The number of sex offenders living in Sussex has increased over the past three years.

Police forces, probation services and other government agencies supervise and keep track of sex offenders and violent criminals in communities across England and Wales through multi-agency public protection arrangements (MAPPAs).

Data from the Ministry of Justice shows 1,991 people convicted of sex crimes were being managed under MAPPAs in the Sussex policing area at the end of March this year, up from 1,827 the year previous.

The area has seen a year-on-year increase from 1,759 in 2020 and 1,707 in 2019.

The rate of sex offenders among residents in the area now stands at 130 in 100,000 people – up from 119 in 2021.

Sex offenders made up 83 per cent of those being managed through MAPPAs in Sussex this year.

There were also 413 violent offenders and one other dangerous offenders under the arrangements in the area.

Detective Superintendent Miles Ockwell, Sussex Police's strategic lead for MAPPA, said: "While there is an increase, it does demonstrate that we are catching and convicting sex offenders who are then required to be subject to notification and monitoring arrangements.

"Our capability to target online offenders is continually evolving and we work closely with the National Crime Agency (NCA) and the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit (SEROCU) in both a proactive and reactive sense to identify and arrest offenders.

“This has been aided over the past two years with uplift funding to increase our capacity in terms of offender management."

Nationally, 66,741 sex offenders are on MAPPAs, up four per cent on last year and up 65 per cent from ten years ago. The rate of sex offenders among the population was 126 per 100,000 at the end of March this year.

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: "The number of sex offenders being monitored increases every year as many are put on the sex offenders register for life when they are convicted."

There were 22,304 violent offenders and 393 other dangerous offenders under MAPPAs across England and Wales at the end of March.

The Ministry of Justice recorded a significant jump in sexual harm prevention orders (SHPOs) last year, which coincided with a 57 per cent increase in the number of people convicted of sexual offences in 2020-21 following the relaxation of Covid-19 restrictions on courts.

SHPOs are applied when the court believes a protection order is needed to protect the public from sexual harm and can include a ban on foreign travel to protect children from sexual harm abroad.

A total of 5,753 SHPOs were handed down nationally in the year to March – up 33 per cent from 4,325 in 2020-21. Of these, 199 were imposed on offenders in Sussex last year.

"We have some of the toughest powers in the world to deal with sex offenders, and those that pose a risk of sexual harm, to ensure the public is protected," said the Home Office spokesman.