The number of registered sex offenders residing in Chatham-Kent has increased again.
Chatham-Kent police reported 330 sex offenders in Chatham-Kent last year, an increase of 16 from 2023 and 31 from 2022.
In their annual report, police said one sex offender is currently not compliant with reporting and legal procedures and a warrant has been issued for their arrest. The report also said four sex offenders were arrested in 2024 for not following their obligations under the law.
According to the Sex Offender Information Registration Act, sex offenders in Canada must register in most cases within seven days after being ordered by a court. The information provided by the offender includes their full name, date of birth, gender, contact details, physical description, address of education institution, vehicle details, driver’s licence number, and passport number. Any change in information must also be reported within seven days.
Despite that, Chatham-Kent police said it's among the top police services in Ontario for sex offender compliance.
CK police also noted the number of child abuse cases (59 investigations) has gone up slightly and the charges in 2024 more than doubled (141) compared to the previous year (68).
Police said two major investigations that resulted in 41 and 29 charges led to the high number of charges last year.
They also said there were 26 child abuse arrests last year compared to 15 in 2023.
Internet child exploitation arrests remained the same at 15 last year, but charges went from 56 to 83, according to CK police data.
CK police didn't have human trafficking statistics, saying only that Chatham-Kent is not immune to the issue and officers will continue to take a proactive approach to stop it from becoming a significant problem in the municipality.