Eyes on 400 sex offenders - Authorities track hundreds of ex sexual convicts across the island

Jamaica's prison authorities say they are keeping a watchful eye on more than 400 convicted sex offenders across the island.

Commissioner of Corrections Radgh Mason revealed that sex offenders are among approximately 6,200 persons being managed by the Department of Correctional Services (DCS).

"We have approximately 3,500 adults and 164 children in our juvenile institutions. In our non-custodial numbers, we have 2,288 adults and 249 children, inclusive of over 400 sex offenders being monitored," Mason said.

Under the Sexual Offences Act, persons convicted of crimes such as rape, grievous sexual assault, incest, sexual touching, sexual grooming, and sexual intercourse with a person under 16, or those released pending appeal, must report within three days to the Sex Offender Registry Registration Centre in the parish where they intend to live.

According to the law, registration officers verify both primary and secondary addresses, capture photographs, and record details in a secure digital database. Each offender is then tracked for 10 years after release, though the court can extend that period if deemed necessary.

Priscillia Duhaney, spokesperson of child rights advocacy organisation, Hear The Children's Cry, described the 400 sex offenders being monitored as "a lot". She also expressed doubt that the authorities are effectively monitoring that many offenders.

"I don't necessarily believe the data is accurate because I don't think we have the resources essentially to be monitoring 400 persons effectively and efficiently," she said.

"Four hundred persons is a lot for the period, and 400 is also a lot to be monitored," she reasoned.

Despite these concerns, DCS data suggests that re-offending may be rare. Registrar Melissa Dobson reported that between July and September 2025, only two offenders were brought back before the courts on sexually related charges, with their cases still pending. Similar figures were recorded during the corresponding period in 2024, while just one offender was found to have re-offended between April and June 2023.

Based on the police data, more than 263 cases of rape have been reported between January 1 and October 11, 2025. Another 344 cases of rape were recorded during the corresponding period last year.

Earlier this year, Superintendent Kerry-Ann Bailey, head of the Centre for the Investigation of Sexual Offences and Child Abuse, revealed that between January 2023 and May, a staggering 3,014 sexual offences against 2,154 children were reported. As of June, approximately 330 incidents had already been recorded, with rape, grievous sexual assault, and sexual intercourse with a person under 16 making up the majority of cases.

Taking into account the figures, Duhaney expressed further concern that some offenders my be slipping through the cracks.

"A lot of their sex offenders might not even be registered," she said, while calling for "more stringent mechanism to ensure that the sex offenders are actually being monitored."