Sex criminals in Scotland have admitted changing their names over 500 times in the past three years, the Scottish Conservatives can reveal.
Police Scotland have received 521 notifications of convicted sex offenders changing their identities since 2019.
Under existing laws they are allowed to do so, despite concerns that some predators hide their pasts in order to strike again.
A Scottish Conservative Freedom of Information request to Police Scotland found that they were notified 161 times of sex offenders changing their names in 2019-20, with 162 the following year. In 2021/22, that rose to a record 198.
Jason Graham raped and murdered Glasgow pensioner Esther Brown in November 2021. He was reportedly using the name Jason Evans after serving a prison sentence for raping a nurse in her own home.
The Scottish Conservatives have called on the SNP government to close the “dangerous loophole”.
Scottish Conservative Shadow Community Safety Minister, Russell Findlay MSP, said: “It makes my blood run cold to think that hundreds of potentially dangerous sex offenders are free to wipe the slate clean and roam free in society with the full knowledge of the authorities.
“By far the greatest number of victims of such crimes are women and children. Casually allowing predators to change their names inevitably puts them at increased risk.
“Esther Brown’s killer was able to hide in plain sight just by swapping his surname, despite being convicted of a heinous sex crime.
“People would have no idea if someone living next door is legitimate or hiding a serious conviction and SNP ministers must close this dangerous loophole before more innocent people are harmed.
“The Scottish Conservatives would ban sex offender name changes to ensure that public safety is the priority, unlike the SNP who would rather pander to criminals.”
Notes
Police Scotland have received 521 notifications of sex offenders changing their name in the last three years. A freedom of information response from Police Scotland confirmed that in 2019-20, sex offenders notified the police 161 times that they changed their name. In 2020-21, this increased to 162 notifications. Last year, 2021-22, it rose to its highest level in the dataset, with the police receiving 198 notifications of a name change. (Police Scotland freedom of information response, 24 October 2022, Available on request).
Sex offenders must notify the police about any name change, but they are not prohibited from changing their names. Section 83 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 outlines notification requirements from convicted sex offenders which include notifying the police of the sex offender’s name and ‘where he used one or more other names on that date, each of those names’. (Legislation.gov, Sexual Offences Act 2003, Section 83, link).
Esther Brown’s murderer was using a different name when he killed her. Jason Graham was using the name Jason Evans when he murdered Esther Brown. Graham was previously convicted of raping a nurse and leaving her for dead back in 2013. (Sky News, 17 November 2021, link; Scottish Daily Mail, 13 February 2022, Page 30).
The Scottish Conservatives want to ban sex offenders from being able to change their name whilst they are still subject to notification requirements. Sex offenders who are still subject to notification requirements as outlined in the Sexual Offences Act 2003 would be banned from changing the name they used at the time they committed their crime. (The Scottish Sun, 16 March 2022, link).
SNP Justice Secretary Keith Brown previously said a sex offender name change ban required ‘serious thought’. Responding to questioning from Russell Findlay MSP, who asked about Scottish Conservative proposals to ban sex offenders changing names, Brown said: ‘That suggestion requires serious thought, in line with the provisions that are already in place, not all of which the member will be aware of.’ (Official Report, 22 March 2022, link).