Scottish Conservative and Unionist MSP Jeremy Balfour for Lothian is backing plans to ban registered sex offenders from changing their name.
Jeremy Balfour’s call comes after the party’s Shadow Community Safety Minister Russell Findlay announced the policy at Scottish Conservative conference in Aberdeen.
Currently, there is nothing to prevent Registered Sex Offenders (RSOs) from hiding their identities by changing their names. There were 14 RSOs who changed their name in 2019, with a further eight doing so in 2020 and 14 again in 2021.
The new policy would also require RSOs in the Lothians to notify the police if they use a dating app or change their gender.
Jason Graham is one example of a registered sex offender to whom this law would apply. He was jailed for seven-and-a half years for the rape and serious assault of a retired nurse in her Glasgow home in 2013.
Upon his release from prison five years later, in 2018, he reportedly changed his name to Jason Evans.
While under police supervision in the community, Graham raped and murdered 67-year-old Esther Brown in her Glasgow flat in May 2021.
Scottish Conservative and Unionist MSP Jeremy Balfour said: “This dangerous loophole needs to be closed and I am pleased that my colleague Russell Findlay has called for this to happen.
“The right of dangerous sex offenders to change their name poses a significant risk to members of the public in the Lothians, especially women.
“Despite constant talk about how women in the Lothians are failed by the justice system, it is astonishing this loophole still exists.
“We’ve seen predators like Jason Graham allowed to leave prison and slink back into communities across Scotland where they can go about their business using a different name.
“This is obviously done to hide their crimes, which increases their risk for those in the Lothians who happen to encounter them.
“I also believe any sex offender in the Lothians must be legally required to notify local police officers if they intend to use dating apps or change gender.
“These measures would increase public protection and make it harder for predators to target new victims in the Lothians.
“I will continue to press the SNP Government to put victims ahead of criminals once and for all in our justice system.”
