The areas with the most registered sex offenders in Northern Ireland

There are more than 2,300 sex offenders living in the community or incarcerated in Northern Ireland.

A Freedom of Information request to the PSNI has found that as of August 2024, there are 2,374 registered sex offenders in Northern Ireland who are in prison or in the community, with the majority of these residing in the Belfast area where there is 646.

The area outside of Belfast with the most registered sex offenders is the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon District Council area with 269 followed by the Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council area with 209.

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The area with the lowest number of registered sex offenders is the Fermanagh and Omagh District Council area with 108.

The number of registered sex offenders in each council area of Northern Ireland'

In its response to the Freedom of Information request, the PSNI highlighted how sex offenders are managed in Northern Ireland.

A spokesperson said: "The management of relevant sexual offenders across Northern Ireland is delivered collaboratively by key contributory partners within the Public Protection Arrangements for Northern Ireland (PPANI), of which PSNI is one. Category 2 (medium risk) and 3 (high risk) relevant sexual offenders are collaboratively managed within the multi-agency structure of PPANI, with one agency within PPANI assuming lead agency responsibility for each managed offender.

"The management of Category 1 (low risk) relevant sexual offenders is delivered outside of the formal multi-agency framework, by single agency management, albeit PPANI partner agencies may have some degree of collaborative, supportive input in the interests of wider safeguarding and effective risk management.

"PSNI's offender management responsibilities include; collaboration and information sharing with PPANI and other Criminal Justice partners, investigation of relevant offending, seeking and enforcing relevant preventative court orders (such as Sexual Offences Prevention Orders - SOPO), risk assessment, and offender engagement/visitation. These are all underpinned by an enduring obligation towards protecting the public. Further information on PPANI can be found at www.publicprotectionni.com."

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