The new measure comes into force under the Violent Crimes Reduction Act, and has already received backing from the Home Secretary John Reid. He believes that the new power will help police to better manage known offenders and allow preventative action to be taken before an offence occurs.
If a registered sex offender denies police access to their home on more than one occasion, police can apply for a warrant to enter and search the property- using force if they deem it necessary.
In what the government have described as a move to ‘prevent and manage’ the risk of offenders, no new crime has to have been committed for a magistrate to grant the warrant.
Where it can be demonstrated that an offender poses a risk to communities, the police can apply for a Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO) and alert others to the presence of the offender if necessary.
Commenting on the new law, Mr Reid said: “Protecting the public from sex offenders is one of the highest priorities for the Government. Nowhere is this more true than with children.
“Our supervision and public protection arrangements are already among the best in the world. We are one of only seven countries to have a sex offenders’ register, but we are always looking to update and improve our current arrangements.”