Hundreds of sex offenders changed their names to avoid detection in the past three years.
Police Scotland have received 521 notices of the criminals – including paedophiles – taking on new identities since 2019. Sex offenders must notify the police about any name change but they are not prohibited from changing their names.
A freedom of information request found Scotland’s police force was notified 161 times of sex offenders changing their names in 2019-20, with 162 the following year. That rose to a record 198 in 2021-22. Serial killer Peter Tobin used the name Pat McLaughlin to get work at the church in Glasgow where he raped and murdered Angelika Kluk in 2006.
