Number of sex offenders on Teesside has risen - with certain areas recording some of the highest rates in the country

The number of sex offenders living in Teesside has risen - with certain areas recording some of the highest rates in the country.

Middlesbrough has 190 registered sex offenders living in the town, a rate of 157.8 per 100,000 people aged 10 and over - the fifth highest rate in the country.

In Redcar and Cleveland, there are 134.7 registered sex offenders per 100,000, while Stockton have 111.5, all well above the national average of 92.2 per 100,000 people.

In total, there were 539 registered sex offenders living in Teesside in 2014 - up 49 from the previous year.

The figures come from an Freedom of Information request to Cleveland Police asking for a further breakdown of the figures from the Teesside Multi-Agency Public Protection Agency (MAPPA) report.

Jenny Mooney, chair of the Teesside MAPPA Strategic Management Board and governor of Holme House Prison, said: “Whilst people will understandably be concerned about offenders living in communities, I want to reassure the public that we have the right measures in place and highly trained specialists working daily to prevent harm.”

The report reveals that one ‘serious further offence’ was committed by an individual monitored by Teesside’s MAPPA - and that four sex offenders were returned to custody for breaching their licence.

However, Teesside MAPPA’s monitoring of one Teesside sex offender has been held up nationally as an example of best practice.

The agency is made up of a number of local organisations such as police and the probation service, and is responsible for ensuring serious and violent offenders do not reoffend.

“We have strong partnership working across Teesside and there are strict measures in place to ensure the monitoring of Registered Sex Offenders and other high-level offenders,” continued Ms Mooney.

“The MAPPA arrangements that we have in place are seen as good practice, with one particular case shared nationally for multi-agency working in the MAPPA arena.

“The safety of the public is paramount and by sharing vital information between agencies, we can ensure communities are protected further by applying restrictions on offenders and monitoring their behaviour by using new technologies.”

The figures are correct as of March this year, and are subject to change as people move areas, die or are imprisoned.

Across England and Wales police and probation are currently monitoring 46,102 registered sex offenders, or 92.2 per 100,000 people.