Sex offenders' online activities monitored (From Darlington and Stockton Times)
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Sex offenders' online activities monitored
9:17am Sunday 9th December 2012 in News By Stuart Minting
SEX offenders have been warned their online activities will be monitored by police officers with the introduction of a remote computer search system.
The Triage system will send North Yorkshire Police's eight public protection officers an alert if registered sex offenders type certain words.
The force said officers visit sex offenders twice a year, but this did not always allow enough time for lifestyle assessments or whether the individual was committing further crimes.
A report by Assistant Chief Constable, Iain Spittal, said reoffenders may only be caught during a police operation and, by that time, they may have been offending for some time.
It also said computer technology was developing at a rate which made it “impossible” to keep training officers to carry out manual “invasive” computer checks, meaning there was a need for Triage.
The report said if the Triage search suggests the sex offender’s behaviour online is not as it should be, this will allow police to arrest them. North Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner Julia Mulligan has approved the purchase of the £11,534 system, which will be introduced early next year.
