Scotland’s Justice Secretary has said she is “seriously considering” UK law changes which could close loopholes which allow sex offenders to legally change names.
Angela Constance told MSPs the Scottish Government may give Westminster permission to pass the legislation on the devolved issue.
Planned UK Government amendments to the Criminal Justice Bill include restricting registered sex offenders from changing their names in “certain circumstances”.
It comes after statistics released in a freedom of information request to Police Scotland showed 392 people on the sex offenders register in Scotland had notified police of a name change between April 1, 2022 and October 31, 2023.
Ms Constance addressed the figures in Holyrood on Wednesday in response to a portfolio question from Scottish Conservative MSP Sue Webber.
The Justice Secretary said the figures referred to instances where some detail of a registered name had changed, including a new email address or a gym card bearing a name.
“Therefore the actual number of individuals under a new name is lower than the reported figures,” she said.
However, Ms Webber asked the Justice Secretary to commit to closing “loopholes” which could allow sex offenders to “hide in plain sight”.
She said: “Recent reports have raised concerns about that ability of sex offenders to change their name, whatever the numbers may be.
“This loophole in the legal system allows dangerous criminals to hide in plain sight, and we know of instances where it has allowed dangerous sex offenders to change their name and subsequently target new victims, who have no way of knowing their new identity.”
In response, Ms Constance said the Scottish Government is considering whether to recommend a legislative consent motion – which would allow the changes to take effect in Scotland – for the Criminal Justice Bill.
She said: “I am very actively and seriously considering the UK proposals for legislative change in this area.
“I hope to be in a position to provide a more formal update to Parliament shortly about any requirement for a legislative consent motion as a result of what is proposed. There is a range of amendments, some of which refer to issues in and around name change.”
Sex offenders in Scotland are currently required to notify Police Scotland of a name change within three days, or risk a prison sentence.