More than 2,000 registered sex offenders live in Sussex but police say there are procedures in place to keep people safe.

Some 2,024 people in the county are on the sex offenders register at the “lowest” risk level, with two more on the register considered to be a medium-level threat, according to government figures.

It means that there is one sex offender for every 700 people in the region, but “a range of powers” exists to avoid them harming the public, say Sussex Police.

The force said that the probation service manages sex offenders released into the community but their behaviour is monitored by police and “other statutory and voluntary partners where appropriate”.

“Public safety is a top priority of all agencies and our planning puts that concern at the heart of all our work,” said a spokeswoman for the force.

“A range of powers exist under prison licence conditions which are monitored by the probation service, as well as court-imposed registered sex offender and sexual offence prevention order requirements which are monitored by police, depending on the individual case.

“These powers can impose strict conditions on access to communications devices, can require exclusion from particular areas and types of locality, and can prohibit contact with particular age groups or individuals.”

Multi-agency public protection arrangements panels will also consider the need to make disclosures to relevant parties in the community following a risk assessment of each case.

“Any address in the community where such an offender may reside is assessed by all MAPPA agencies for potential risk posed by the offender to any individual or groups in that community or potential risk posed to the offender,” the spokeswoman said.

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“This assessment will be subject to review if the situation changes at any point.

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

The number of registered sex offenders in Sussex has risen by 461 from 1,565 in 2018 to the current number of 2,026.