The number of high-risk offenders being monitored in the community by the Probation Service who committed a murder, rape or other serious offence rose by more than one third last year, according to figures published yesterday.

Eighty-three criminals released from jail were charged with another serious offence compared with 61 in the previous year.

The true figure of serious offending by those who are subject to multi-agency public protection arrangements (Mappas) is likely to be higher because the statistics do not include offences committed by those at the lowest level.

Among the 15,487 men and women being monitored in the two highest categories, 83 were charged with a further serious offence in 2006-07, according to annual reports from Mappas in England and Wales.

Seventy-one offenders of 14,238 on Level 2 — medium risk — were charged with another offence, and 12 out of 1,249 at Level 3 — the “critical few” category.

Overall, 12 per cent of the offenders ranked in the medium and high-risk categories were either returned to prison for breach of licence or committed new crimes.

A total of 48,668 criminals were under Mappas last year, an increase of 2 per cent on the previous year.

The number of registered sex offenders rose by 1.44 per cent to 30,416. There are 57.45 registered sex offenders per 100,000 population in England and Wales compared with 40.45 in 2002-03, the report showed.

Maria Eagle, a Justice minister, said: “Protecting the public is of paramount importance to the Government. We have one of the most advanced systems in the world for monitoring and managing dangerous offenders.”

She added: “Mappa protects the public by providing robust communication and sharing of information between all responsible authorities, but we are not complacent and continue to look for ways to improve how we manage these offenders and how best to support those responsible for the task locally.”

Ms Eagle said that a new computer should improve the management of high-risk offenders on their release from jail.

A new violent and sex offender register (Visor) is currently being introduced to every probation and prison establishment in England and Wales.

The minister said: “For the first time the police, probation and prison services will be working on the same IT system, thus improving the quality and the timeliness of risk assessments and interventions to prevent reoffending.”

Roger Hill, the director of the National Probation Service, said: “There are no easy solutions with offenders having such complex histories and multiple needs, but here we see detailed sentence planning, careful monitoring and swift intervention before behaviour escalates to serious reoffending.” A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: “Each of these offences represents tremendous distress and suffering for the victims and their families and any serious offending by this particular population is going to be of great concern.

“The rate of serious offending in this very specific group has, however, been under 1 per cent for the past three years.”

London tops the list with 13 people being managed at levels 2 and 3 charged with further serious offences.

The London Probation Service said that the reasons for the increase from last year were clarification of the definition of the offences meeting these criteria, improved detection techniques and a rise in the number of offenders under Mappa.

It added that two of the thirteen were historic cases which had resulted in charges being brought during the year.

Mappa brings together police, probation, social services and other agencies to manage dangerous offenders in the community on release from jail.

An offender at Level 2 requires management by more than one agency but a person on Level 3 requires multi-agency co-operation and oversight at a senior level plus the authority to commit exceptional resources.

Registered sex offenders in England and Wales

Avon & Somerset 809
Bedfordshire 323
Cambridgeshire 407
Cheshire 577
Cumbria 280
Derbyshire 609
Devon & Cornwall 920
Dorset 415
Durham 348
Dyfed-Powys 299
Essex 735
Gloucestershire 311
Greater Manchester 1,722
Gwent 406
Hampshire 1,190
Hertfordshire 400
Humberside 653
Kent 983
Lancashire 998
Leicestershire & Rutland 534
Lincolnshire 414
London 3,151
Merseyside 975
Norfolk 574
Northamptonshire 355
Northumbria 870
North Wales 405
North Yorkshire 359
Nottinghamshire 747
South Wales 695
South Yorkshire 830
Staffordshire 676
Suffolk 413
Surrey 426
Sussex 789
Teesside 357
Thames Valley 982
Warwickshire 259
West Mercia 655
West Midlands 1,850
West Yorkshire 1,387
Wiltshire 506

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