Essex Police have sought to reassure residents after a new map detailed how many sexual offenders are living in the county. New figures show there are more registered sex offenders living in England and Wales than ever before.
The total number of 70,052 has almost doubled in just 13 years. In Essex alone, there are 1,980—roughly one for every 840 people aged 10+ in the county.
When the figures were first published at the end of 2010/11, there were 36,921 registered sexual offenders living in England and Wales. The Ministry of Justice figures cover offenders managed by Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA), which aim to prevent further offences.
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Sex offenders are required to notify the police of certain details with further notification required if any of those details change. This is often referred to as being on the sex offenders register.
Some parts of the country have a higher proportion of sex offenders living there than elsewhere. County Durham had a total of 1,123 sex offenders living in its police force area – roughly one for every 510 people aged 10 or above – whereas Hertfordshire has one sex offender for every 1,266 people – the lowest ratio in the country.
Essex (119) is in the bottom ten when ranking areas with the most sex offenders per 100,000 population. Only Kent (118), Bedfordshire (118), Avon and Somerset (115), Leicestershire (114), Thames Valley (94), London (91), Surrey (79) and Hertfordshire (79) have lower proportions.
Use the map below to compare Essex with other parts of the country:
Detective Superintendent Naomi Edwards said: “I know the thought of having registered sex offenders in your community may be concerning but we have a dedicated team of specialist officers and staff to manage, monitor, and mitigate the risk they pose to the public. The Management of Sexual Offenders and Violent Offenders team – or MOSOVO – carry out proactive visits, both planned and unannounced, to ensure they are abiding by the restrictions placed upon them and investigating any breaches.
“The team work alongside probation in managing people in the community as well as having Multi Agency Public Protection Agreement meetings for all partners involved in managing and monitoring someone. They secure orders, such as Sexual Harm Prevention Orders, to prevent further offending.
“The team work with our Proactive Order Enforcement Team in obtaining these orders and ensuring they are being complied with. And we are robust in dealing with people in the community to prevent further offences and protect the public from harm.
“We also utilise technology to review digital devices that may be used in an offence as well as things like polygraphs to identify offending, support with investigative visits, and ensure orders are being complied with. And we process applications under the Child Sex Offender Disclosure Scheme, commonly known as Sarah’s Law.
“In 2024, MOSOVO made 125 arrests, secured 286 charges, and solved nearly 370 investigations but thanks to our work there is a low rate of registered sex offenders re-offending.”
Det Supt Edwards added: “The reason there is the number of registered sex offenders in our county is down to the hard work being carried out to identify people committing offences and bringing them to justice. Our team which investigates online child sexual abuse, for example, is the most effective in the country.
“In 2024 the Police Online Investigation Team – or POLIT – safeguarded almost 250 children, made 146 arrests, and carried out 210 warrants. And with a solved rate of 75 percent, this specialist team are at the forefront of disrupting online abuse.”