Sex offender registration information

This page is intended to address some of the questions and concerns surrounding the issue of sex offender registration.

Basic principles

The notification requirements of Part 2 of the 2003 Act are an automatic requirement for offenders who receive a conviction or caution for specified sexual offences. The requirements also apply to individuals ‘found not guilty by reason of insanity’ or to have been ‘under a disability but to have done the acts charged against him or her in respect of such offence’. The notification requirements are not a punishment for a sexual offence and are not part of the system of penalties.

The notification requirements are not dependent on an order of the court. An offender who becomes subject to the requirements does so automatically because they have been convicted, cautioned, reprimanded or warned for a ‘relevant offence’. There is no discretion, exercised by either the courts or the police, in imposing the notification requirements on relevant offenders.

Similarly, the requirements cannot be imposed at the discretion of the courts or police on a person who is not a relevant offender as specified in the 2003 Act.

In addition, discretion is not exercised by the courts or the police over the duration of the notification period. This is set out in the legislation and is based upon whether the offender has received a caution, conviction or finding in respect of a relevant offence and, where applicable, the type and duration of the sentence or disposal received. The court should not reduce a sentence in order that an offender is subject to the notification requirements for a lesser period.

An offender cannot be subject to more than one set of notification requirements. For example, where the offender is convicted of different Schedule 3 offences at different times, they only need to make one initial notification and annual notification thereafter of the requisite details (assuming these details do not change). A certificate should, however, be issued each time the offender is convicted etc. of a relevant offence and forwarded to the local police’s Public Protection Unit so that the correct period of notification can be established by the police.

What does sex offender registration mean?

Being on the register does not place any restrictions or prohibitions on an individual. It means only that they must notify Police of certain information, a guide to which can be found below. 

The requirements are the same for all individuals liable to register regardless of the nature of the offence they were convicted of at Court.

Every person liable to registration requirements will have an officer assigned to them from the Public Protection Unit, in the area in which they reside. The assigned officer may be a plain clothes police officer or police staff member. Their role is to risk assess and manage the person to protect others and also reduce the likelihood of future re-offending. This is conducted in a number of ways  including unannounced home visits, discussions with external services involved with an individual/family, along with other intelligence gathering means.

What details are required to be registered?

A person subject to registration requirements is required to register:

1. Their name and any other names, be they alias names, new names as per Deed Poll, names used on social media, gamer tags or any other name they can be identified by. 
2. Their address. The address at which they reside. If a person is homeless, often referred to as No Fixed abode (NFA) then they should register the  fact that they are of no fixed abode and also a place where they may be found. 
3. Any other address at which they stay for seven days a year or more. This can be on one occasion, for example a cottage or caravan at the seaside for a holiday or two weeks in alternative accommodation due to flooding at their address. In these cases, we would refer to it as a temporary address. Or it could be that the individual stops on occasional days for example staying at a partner’s or parent’s address at weekends. Legally the individual MUST register this address within three days of the seventh day of their stay. We would refer to this as an occasional address.
4. Any household or private place the individual stays or resides at for 12 hours or more and where there is a child also resides or stays. The notification can be made in advance or it can be made within three days of the event taking place. NB this also includes the registered address as per point 2 above. So, if the individual, who normally does not reside with a child has any child at his address for 12 hours or more they must register that event within three days of it taking place.
5. Their passport, driving licence or immigration identity card details if held.
6. Any bank accounts, credit/debit cards, post office accounts, savings accounts including ISAs or bonds they hold. Basically, any funds the offender has access to, including business and joint accounts, although there is no requirement to furnish details of who the other person/people on the account are.
7. National Insurance number.

How and when to register

To register these details the individual is required to attend in person at a prescribed police station. Please note that not all police stations in North Yorkshire are prescribed police stations.

• If the individual is notifying their main address or annually re-notifying their details this must be done in the Force area in which they reside, however it does not have to be the same district, the individual may prefer to travel to another Police station within the same Force area. 
• If the individual is notifying an additional address, they can register it in either the Force area they reside or the Force area that covers the additional address.
• If the individual is notifying foreign travel, they can register at any prescribed Police station in the UK.

You can find out which Force area an address is situated in on the Police.uk website.

The prescribed police stations for North Yorkshire are listed below:

• Harrogate Police Station
  Beckwith Head Road
  Harrogate
  HG3 1FR
• Northallerton Police Station HQ North Yorkshire Police
  Alverton Court
  Crosby Road
  Northallerton
  DL6 1BF
• Scarborough Police Station
  Northway
  Scarborough
  YO12 7AD
• Skipton Police Station
  Otley Road
  Skipton
  BD23 1EZ
• York Police Station
  Fulford Road
  York
  YO10 4BY

A person subject to registration requirements must register or re-register all details: 

• within three days of becoming liable to register (initial registration) 
• within three days of release from any term of imprisonment 
• within three days of any change to any details as above and, 
• if there has been no change within 12 months, they must re-register all their details above every year. 

It is important to note that the legislation counts the day of conviction/release/change as the first day, so a person convicted on a Monday has Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday to register, after that an offence of breach of registration requirement is committed.

In addition, a person who is registered as homeless or No Fixed Abode (NFA) must re-register every seven days and include a place where they can be found until such time as he or she registers an address.

The Sexual Offences Act 2003 also gives police the power to take the person’s fingerprints and photograph when they make a notification at a police station for identification purposes if required.

When attending to register it is important that the person confirms all the registerable details including all the addresses as per points three and four above with the person at the police station who is completing the form. They must also be satisfied that the form has been completed with the correct details. A copy of the registration form will be offered to the person registering. 

Ultimately the legislation places the responsibility for compliance with the registration details upon the person who is subject to the notification requirements.

A person commits an offence if they fail to comply with the Sex Offender Registration requirements or provides false information. This may be punishable by up to five years imprisonment.

How are the details held?

Information provided under notification will be recorded on ViSOR; the database used to store and manage information obtained as a result of a notification requirement. Some reduced details will also be recorded on other Police systems such as the Police National Computer and local Police information systems, however this will not include sensitive information such as bank account details. All data is processed in accordance with Data Protection Act 1998.

Data protection is taken very seriously, and Police are required to comply with existing laws and procedures as to how this information may be handled and used (including under Data Protection and the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984). Additionally, there are robust arrangements in place in relation to data security on ViSOR. This includes strict physical and technical security requirements to ensure the data remains secure. Those individuals who have access to the database are also subject to heightened vetting standards.

What if any details change?

If any of the details listed above change, the individual must attend a prescribed police station as above and register that change within three days. This includes changes to financial account details such as being issued a new debit or credit card (including replacement bank cards) or closing an account.

Notification of changes can be made in advance, for example, if a person knows the dates they are going to stay in a holiday cottage or if they know they will stay at a partner’s address for more than seven days they do not need to wait until the seven days has occurred, they can make that notification in advance.

Advanced notification of a change of address may also be made however it may be best to exercise caution as, if the move takes place either more than two days before or three days later than originally notified a new registration must be made within six days of the originally anticipated move date. Also, as above, the registration of a new home address can only be made in the police force area where that address is located.

When is an annual re-registration made?

If no notification of change of details has occurred within the last 12 months the person subject to registration requirements must attend at a prescribed police station and reconfirm all their registerable details. This is often called annual or periodic notification and it is the individual’s responsibility to know when this is.

The annual notification date will change if new or different information is notified as above. 

The annual or periodic registration must be made before the end of the 12 month period since the previous notification was given, but can be given at any point in advance. So, for example, if a change of address takes place on 10 June the annual registration must take place before the end of 9 June the following year. However, if a further change is registered, such as a new bank card being issued, on say 10 December, then the annual re-registration date is reset and becomes before 9 December.

Registering travel abroad

If a person is subject to sex offender register requirements it does not mean they cannot travel abroad. However, they must register the details of the travel with the police, at a prescribed police station as outlined above, at least seven days in advance. 

The details required to be registered are as follows: 

• Date of departure from UK 
• Destination(s) including airport and airline details 
• Accommodation arrangements

It is a legal requirement that persons subject to Sex Offender Registration notify their travel plans seven days before departure unless the details are not known at that time. If an individual has to make last minute plans to travel outside the country then they must notify them at least 12 hours before departure. 

When registering foreign travel the individual does not have to notify police of the date when they are returning to the UK, but if they do not notify this when registering travel they will be required to re-register within three days of their return to the UK. Similarly, if an individual does notify a return date and then, for whatever reason, does not return on that date, they will also be required to re-register upon their return. These re-registrations should be completed as per an annual re-registration. 

Generally registering foreign travel does not affect the annual re-registration date unless the person has been required to make a full re-registration upon return as above.

Further information

For more information, visit the GOV.UK website: Guidance on Part 2 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003