Police stations across the United Kingdom are not sure of the whereabouts of 485 registered sex offenders, a report found.
Sky News reported the 485 “missing” registered sex offenders include rapists and paedophiles.
The media outlet obtained the figures from 41 of Britain’s police forces after submitting Freedom of Information Act requests to all of the stations. Four police forces did not respond to the request.
The police forces declined to name any sex offenders whose whereabouts are unknown, stating it would violate the Data Protection Act, a U.K law that enforces how personal data is handled.
The Metropolitan Police, the largest force in Britain, said it was not sure where 227 registered s3x offenders were. At least 38 of those offenders have been unaccounted for some eight years, the police department added.
West Midlands Police said at least 46 registered sex offenders wanted by police were missing. Greater Manchester Police said 19 sex offenders were unaccounted for, while Police Scotland said 12 registered sex offenders were wanted. Kent and Northumbria Police each had a missing sex offender who vanished in 2005.
“The total number unaccounted for across the UK is up by 22 percent compared with March 2015, when 39 police forces revealed they did not know the whereabouts of 396 registered sex offenders,” Sky News reported.