FOI 0499-2024/25- RSOs

Request:

Q1. Please state how many Registered Sex Offenders (Category 1) your force had responsibility for as at 1.1.24?

Q2. How many of these RSOs (Category 1) referred to in Question 1 did you NOT have an up-to-date address for in that you did NOT know where they were living?

Q3. How many of the ‘missing’ RSOs (Category 1) referred to in Question 2 are (a) believed to have moved and be living abroad, or (b) thought to have No Fixed Address and may be homeless.

Q4. Of those ‘missing’ RSOs (Category 1) referred to in Question 2 how many were designated as being managed at (i) Level 1, (ii) Level 2 and (iii) Level 3?

NOTE: If you cannot do this calculation for 1.1.24, then please do the calculation for the most recent date you can.

Response:

Extent and Result of Searches to Locate Information

To locate the information relevant to your request searches were conducted within North Yorkshire Police. I can confirm that the information you have requested is held by North Yorkshire Police.  

Decision

I have today decided to disclose the located information to you.

The number of registered sex offenders within North Yorkshire Police force area changes on a daily basis. The following figures are provided on a specific day count only as of 19 September 2024.

Q1. 1139 in total, this includes those that are in the community (865) and those that are detained (274).

Q2 & Q3. The information you have requested is published online under the following link:

Forcing the issue | The Northern Echo

I have therefore decided to exempt providing you with a response to question 2 and 3 pursuant to Section 21 Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act). Please see the exemption explanation below.

Q4. All are category 1

Exemption Explanation

Section 17 of the Act requires North Yorkshire Police, when refusing to provide such information (because the information is exempt) to provide you the applicant with a notice which: (a) states that fact, (b) specifies the exemption in question and (c) states (if that would not otherwise be apparent) why the exemption applies.

Section 21 – Information Reasonably Accessible by Other Means

Section 21 is an absolute class based exemption and I am not required to consider the harm or public interest when applying this exemption.

Section 22(1)(b) – Information Intended for Future Publication

Section 22 is a qualified exemption and as such is subject to a public interest test. This means that North Yorkshire Police have identified the exemption and have considered whether the public interest in not disclosing the information outweighed the public interest test in disclosing the information.

Although there is a public interest in knowing the details of FOI requests as this leads to greater transparency, Section 22 allows for circumstances when it is reasonable and correct for public authorities to delay the provision of information until it is made generally available through publication.

Pursuant to Section 17(1) of the Act this letter acts as a Refusal Notice in response to your request.

Please note that systems used for recording information are not generic, nor are the procedures used locally in capturing the data.  It should be noted therefore that this force’s response to your questions should not be used for comparison purposes with any other responses you may receive.