UK police have lost track of no fewer than 485 registered sex offenders, including rapists and child molesters, across the UK, local media reported on Tuesday.
The Sky news broadcaster submitted a request to the UK’s 45 police departments, asking them to provide information on the missing sex offenders.
A total of four police forces, including the Police Service of Northern Ireland, have not responded to the request, which suggests that the actual number of disappeared sex offenders may be even higher.
According to Skynews, the whereabouts of some of the offenders have remained unknown for over a decade.
Under UK law, convicted sex offenders are required to inform the police on their whereabouts so that their actions may be tracked by law enforcement.
According to the UK Ministry of Justice’s 2016 to 2017 report, there are over 55,000 registered sex offenders in England and Wales.
