A Game of Hide and Seek

Warning: This article may contain distressing information

By Rhiya K

The Freedom of Information requests by BBC News to forty-five police forces have revealed that 729 sex offenders had gone missing or were wanted for arrest from 2019-2021. Where are they hiding? Read on to find out about the situation.

Where have they gone?

The Home Office says it has ‘some of the toughest powers in the world to deal with sex offenders”. Yet hundreds of sex offenders across the UK have seemed to magically disappear from the system. Survivors of sexual abuse have urged the government to introduce new law which will ban sex offenders from changing their names. Many perpetrators change their names to escape authorities and their past. MP Sarah Champion raised this situation in parliament, highlighting that when perpetrators change their names, they can now apply for new identity documents, allowing them to possible secure jobs working with children.

At least 1,400 children were the victims of abuse between 1997 and 2013.

How does it happen?

What exacerbates this problem further, is the ease at which a perpetrator can change their name. The costs to change your name as on offender vary. £42.44 for an enrolled deed poll, where the applicant’s new name was added to public records. Some change their names in prison by paying an administrative fee of £15 for an unenrolled deed poll which required two witnesses, Ms Champion previously told Parliament.

£15.

What is the current law?

When someone is added to the Sex Offenders Register, they are obligated to provide personal details to the police such as their name and any aliases they may have been known by. Annually, they must visit the police station to notify the police of any changes to these details. Chief Constable Michelle Skeer said, ‘Whilst anybody could change their name these additional legislative obligations were monitored closely’.

Continue reading on the next page

Della Wright

Della Wright has called the government to get sex offenders banned from changing their names once they are added to the register. She was abused at the age of six by Terry Price who was sentenced in 2017 to 22 years in prison, along with a 5-year extension after being found guilty of sex offences involving children. However, now he, aged 60, changed his name before proceeding to offend again, changing his name between court hearings to Mister Mac. She says that the system is ‘far too simplistic’ and ‘open to abuse.’

‘Since the court case, my whole world has become very small. I used to like music and festivals, but I don’t go anywhere. I can’t travel by myself’.

Although some say that perpetrators change their name for a better life and protect their family, the number of offenders who use this flaw in the system to their advantage is horrific.

There had been more than 5,500 offences committed by sex offenders of failing to comply with notification requirements such as not telling police they were living in a household with a child.

Tighter and well-regulated legislation and laws are needed to monitor the behaviour and nature of these perpetrators, so they don’t reoffend. Change is needed to ensure that people in our society today can freely carry out their day-to-day routine without worrying about these hundreds of offenders playing their games of hide and seek.

Teacher Strikes

By Kishana

Many upon thousands of schools across the UK are facing interruptions as teachers go on strike again over pay. In England (excluding London), the rough minimum amount per year for teachers is £28,000. For independent schools, the rough minimum for teachers is £50,000. (These are all estimations). The government is proposing a 3% pay raise for most teachers in 2024, however the NEU (National Education Union) says this is not enough. Therefore, the NEU are holding strikes scheduled on the 15th and 16th of march in schools in England and Wales. So, are other unions striking? Yes, this is the case across the UK. In Scotland, the EIS (Educational Institute of Scotland) held strikes on 28th February and 1st March and in Northern Ireland, most teachers walked out of schools for half a day on 21st February.

With the current situation ongoing and unresolved, it is hard to predict what will happen. Only time will tell.