Questions have been asked after a registered sex offender was able to disappear off police radar for more than a week after telling police he was “sleeping rough”.
Mark King, 41, was jailed for a total of 642 days on Thursday after failing to keep police updated of his movements.
The “high-risk” offender was able to give officers the slip after telling officers he was camping out near the former Olympia building on Riverside Drive.
King, who was placed on the register for 10 years in 2011, decided to travel to Perth and then on to Blairgowrie but failed to attend a police station to register a change of address, which he was required to do following his June 7 release from Perth Prison.
The revelation has led to politicians and charity organisations to ask why sex offenders are able to give such vague addresses to the police.
Last night Police Scotland confirmed that it was legal for a sex offender to tell police that they have no fixed abode, as long as they keep officers informed of their movements.
Mid Scotland and Fife MSP Murdo Fraser said allowing King to give such an ambiguous location for where he was living showed contempt for the public.
He said: “That this criminal was allowed to state his address as ‘near the Olympia on Riverside Drive’ is simply staggering and betrays a worrying disregard for public safety particularly when related to an individual who clearly presents a threat to the public.
“We require an urgent explanation from Police Scotland as to why this happened and an assurance that there will be no repetition of these events.”
Matt Forde, head of NSPCC Scotland, said sex offenders should be supervised and a stable address was needed to achieve this.
He said: “Convicted sex offenders can pose an ongoing danger and so must be monitored and supervised by the authorities at all times to keep the public safe from harm.
“It is important that offenders have stable accommodation on release in order they can be supervised, to help their rehabilitation and to prevent them reoffending.”
A spokeswoman for Police Scotland said: “In order to keep people safe, Police Scotland manages all registered sex offenders in accordance with legislation and national guidance and in conjunction with our partners under the multi-agency public protection arrangements framework.
“Indeed it is because of this close and robust monitoring, along with positive partnership working, that in this case Police Scotland were able to quickly identify that an individual had not been complying with the requirements placed upon him and made sure he was taken into custody as soon as possible.”
King appeared from custody at Perth Sheriff Court on Thursday. His solicitor, John McLauchlin, said King had failed to tell police he had moved because he “lost track of time”.
He said: “He just started wandering. He told me he’d just lost track of time.”
The court had previously heard that King, a prisoner of Perth, had previously been jailed for 13 months for committing a similar offence.
Sheriff Marion McDonald ordered King to serve the remaining 145 days of that sentence and sentenced him to a further 17 months and three weeks.