A huge surge in the number of paedophiles has overworked police struggling to adequately monitor child sex offenders.
The Police Association of NSW says more officers are urgently needed to keep a close eye on paedophiles who are listed on the state’s Child Protection Register.
The president of the association, Tony King, said in some country areas, one officer is responsible for monitoring more than 150 offenders, The Daily Telegraph reported.
There are about 4,000 child sex offenders who are currently listed on the NSW Child Protection Register, with police struggling to closely monitor them (stock image)
‘We need dedicated officers assigned in each command to keep track of these people who target our children and are known to be repeat offenders,’ Mr King said.
He said police who have other duties are struggling to monitor the growing number of ‘grubs and deviants’, despite how hard they try.
‘Ideally we would like to see one officer dedicated to every 30 known to be on the registry,’ Mr King said.
There are currently about 4,000 child sex offenders on the register and annually more than 700 individuals are arrested and charged with offences against children.
NSW Police say those listed on the register are ‘persons convicted of a nominated violent or sexual offence against a child’ and ‘the period of registration is for a minimum of eight years for an adult, four years for a juvenile offender’.
Police must be given personal information which has to be regularly updated, such as travel plans.
President of the Police Association of NSW Tony King (pictured) said police need ‘dedicated officers assigned in each command to keep track of these people who target our children’
Newly-released statistics have shown the number of child predators who have breached the conditions of the register have almost doubled since 2013.
The number of breaches has risen from 170 in 2013 to 361 in 2017.
The commander of the Child Abuse and Sex Crimes Squad, Detective Superintendent John Kerlatec, said NSW Police acknowledged the register was increasing and they were working alongside other government authorities.
Mr King said more police officers are needed to adequately keep track of offenders on the Child Protection register (stock image)