On-line register launched to help police manage sex offenders

Police forces from across the country will be able to share information on sex offenders from today thanks to a new electronic register.

The Violent and Sex Offenders Register – known as Visor – provides complete and up-to-date information on the country’s most dangerous offenders on-line. It is intended to help reduce offending, protect the public and save police time.

Home Office minister Fiona Mactaggart said: “Visor is a big step forward for public protection. The introduction of Visor means that, for example, intelligence entered by a probation officer in the north of the country will become immediately searchable by a police officer in the south.”

The register, which has been under development since January 2003, was built on the request of police and probation officers managing sex offenders.

Children’s charity NCH said the register was an important step in ensuring paedophiles and sex offenders could not escape police scrutiny by moving across county borders.