A loophole which allows sex offenders to slip off the police radar by declaring themselves homeless is to be closed, the justice secretary announced yesterday.
Kenny MacAskill said new laws will make sure registered offenders have to report to authorities weekly, daily, or even hourly, if supported by the Scottish Parliament.
“We’ll be using the first available opportunity in the Criminal Justice and Licensing Bill to close it,” he said.
The issue was first raised three years ago in a report to the previous Scottish Executive by professor George Irving, who made 36 recommendations.
Under current rules, offenders must give an address but it has been reported that homeless offenders have passed on details of libraries, job centres and a cemetery.
Mr MacAskill told BBC Radio Scotland that seven offenders were registered homeless in the Lothian and Borders police area last year.
He said the new measures will be outlined in the bill to Parliament in 2009 and could be enshrined in law by 2010.
Mr MacAskill said some people may be legitimately homeless but moved to assure the public that new laws would close the loophole.
He said the SNP government proposed the weekly time scale following discussions with police and social work services. “In the main, it should be weekly. If though it’s felt it should be daily or indeed hourly then that can be applied for and granted by the courts,” he said.
Mr MacAskill told the programme: “This is the first chance we’ve had. It’s not as if we’ve not been taking action to deal with the difficulties that the few but very dangerous number of sex offenders that are out there pose.
“That’s including matters such as if they go underground then we will allow their names and photographs to be released, and that power has been used by police.”
He added: “If they are seeking to avoid detection, then we have brought in powers to make sure that they will be brought to the attention of the whole community. The police have the desired powers to notify communities, whether it’s streets or whether it’s towns.”
The government later confirmed that the seven sex offenders who had been registered homeless in Lothian and Borders are now rehoused, in custody or moved elsewhere. A government spokesman said yesterday’s figures showed two registered sex offenders were recorded homeless with police forces in Scotland.
He added: “As the justice secretary has said, the numbers are very small and can change frequently as offenders notify police on changes to their circumstances.”