THE number of potentially dangerous sex offenders breaching rules designed to protect the public has doubled in two years.

More than 100 of the 1,716 paedophiles, rapists and other signatories of the Sex Offenders Register in Greater Manchester were cautioned or charged for breaching their orders in a 12-month period.

Breaches include failing to tell the police of a change of address or planned holiday, changing name or passport details or failing to sign the register at all. Senior politicians warned last night the size of the increase was 'worrying' and urged authorities to make sure dangerous sexual criminals were being adequately monitored.

The figures, contained in a new report, show 102 of the 1,716 registered sexual offenders - more than one in 17 - committed a breach in the year to March 31. That compared with 51 out of 1,643 in 2006 and 70 out of 1,722 last year. Susan Williams, leader of Tory-run Trafford council, said: "The authorities need to ask themselves why there has been a jump of this size.

Breaches

"It is worrying. It is obviously good if more people are being identified and caught, but if it is the case that more people are committing breaches because sufficient checks are not in place then the system needs to be investigated."

Christine Beddoe, director of child protection charity ECPAT UK, said the increase was 'extraordinary'. She said: "This is a major concern if there is a risk the police are losing track of sex offenders. "Clearly there is something wrong with our public protection arrangements if the figures have gone up so quickly."

The Sexual Offenders Register must be signed by those convicted of crimes including sex with an underage person, possession of child pornography, rape, grooming, incest and sexual assault. Anyone given a sentence of more than 30 months usually has to sign the register for the rest of their life.

Those jailed for six months to 30 months get 10 years on the register, while those getting lighter sentences still have to sign on for up to seven years. All offenders have to register within three days of their conviction or release from prison. Any breach can result in a caution, fine or jail sentence of up to five years.

Robust

The police and probation services said the rise in known breaches did not necessarily reflect an equally large increase in actual offences. A GMP spokeswoman said: "The increase is due in part to an increase in the staffing of the Sexual Offender Management Unit and also to a continued and robust approach to ensuring offenders remain compliant."

Det Sgt Neil Prunnell, who runs GMP's monitoring strategy, said: "The total number of registered sex offenders in the community has remained relatively stable this year. Although we would normally expect the figure to rise each year as more offenders are added, this is because more offenders came to the end of registration requirements during this period.

 "Through our strong partnerships we can ensure we meet the challenge of protecting people and managing the risks." Nationally, the number of registered sex offenders rose this year by 3 per cent to 31,392 - nearly 9,000 more than five years ago.