The number of convicted sex offenders living in the community instead of prison are at the highest on record.

Annual figures released by Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) this morning showed there were 324 registered sex offenders living in Oxfordshire.

This is an increase from 305 last year, 323 in 2007 and 306 in 2006 when the annual figures were first released.

Monitoring is carried out by police and the probation service which also works with NHS Primary Care Trusts, Youth Offending Service, mental health agencies, local authority housing departments and children’s services.