REFNATION
JusticeEnded 12 Sept

Should the UK register of sex offenders be made public to all households?

Yes 50%No 50%793 votes cast

Registered sex offenders in the UK must notify police of their address and any changes under the Sexual Offences Act 2003. The register is not public. Police can disclose details to protect the public or specific individuals on a case-by-case basis, including via the Child Sex Offender Disclosure Scheme known as Sarah's Law. The Crime and Policing Act 2026 strengthened offender notification rules and issued statutory guidance on police disclosures but stopped short of automatic community-wide alerts.

Jump to opinions· 32

“I need to know when to buy my woodchipper”

YES case · Jonathan · 3 respects

“A public register sounds satisfying until you look at how it works in practice... but it has the potential to trigger chaotic vigilante mobs attacking the wrong houses, while actual predators stop notifying the authorities and vanish entirely. The moment an offender goes completely off grid, the police lose all ability to monitor them. Mandatory police surveillance and strict GPS tagging keep comm”

NO case · BenL · 3 respects

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Yes · 400 votes
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No · 393 votes
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32 Opinions

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Icoult· 32
The Practical Moderate
Voted noCentre lean

How would this help? It might tell you that you live near one and you might be more protective of your kids? But shouldn’t you be more protective of your kids anyway to prevent them being harmed by the predator who has yet to be caught? Basically, behave like you have a sex offender near you anyway and you will never have to check a list…

JohnMorris· 213
The Green Labourist
Voted noLeft lean

No. It will only inspire vigilantes and lynch mob justice

Astobie1· 428
The Institutional Taskmaster
Voted noRight lean

On balance

JustFactsNotBeliefs· 495
The Peacemaker
Voted noLeft lean

NO Simply because there's to many wantabe vigilante type thugs who'd use them to locate and harass people with the aim of making a name for themselves. If it wasn't for those sort I'd say definatly yes parents should know when those sort of criminals are living around them

RobThompson· 56
The Respected
Voted noH. Left lean

Two massive problems with this idea: 1) Miscarriages of justice happen - the Andrew Malkinson is a clear example. This is bad enough with a private register, with a public register it would be way way worse. 2. This is how you get vigilantes. These crimes are very bad, but an effective death sentence would be disproportionate regardless.

Angel· 632
The Punitive Energy Traditionalist
Voted yesRight lean

Yes I think it should be available to the public, presently if I have kids I can go to the police station to ask for info. I don't have kids but would like to know if where I was moving too had nonces living there , because I personally do not want to live nr a pedfile .

JohnnyBoy· 287
The Motorist Statist
Voted noRight lean

I think victims should have unfettered access and in some cases the Register can be more readily available, but my concerns would be vigilantism, which might result in past offenders having to be separated from wider society. Problem is someone could be on the Reguster for a technical ‘offence’ and pose no threat to anybody. I would not trust our bureaucracy to manage an open Register fairly or accurately.

constancia· 491
The Atlantic Gatekeeper
Voted noRight lean

I think we'd discover there are tens of thousands of them. Then we would have to relocate them all to barred housing schemes because nobody would want to take the (now explicit) risk of living next to them and their lives would be at risk.

GingerNinja· 68
The Order-First Borderman
Voted yesRight lean

I'd rather know if I'm living next door to a convicted sex offender for the safety of my family, and to help safeguard the neighbourhood.

DavidSandilands· 367
The Electoral Gatekeeper
Voted noC. Right lean

This would only result in vigilantism and people being hunted down.