900 sex offenders monitored in NI

The number of sex offenders under scrutiny in NI has increased

Almost 900 sex offenders are being monitored across Northern Ireland, according to a new report.

The total of 893 offenders is an increase of 123 on last year's figures.

Forty-six of those offenders are considered high risk and six of them are living in the community under supervision.

South Belfast has the biggest proportion under scrutiny, according to the NI Sex Offender Strategic Management Committee's annual report.

A total of 116 are living in that area. Two are high risk, 50 are medium risk and 64 are low risk.

The committee said there were about 11,000 people in Northern Ireland with a conviction for a sexual offence.

Last year, the committee was supervising 43 high risk offenders, three of them in the community.