JUST ONE MORE CULTI AMONGST THE MULTI:

Police struggle to cope as hidden sex offender list tops 30,000 (RICHARD GRAY AND MURDO MACLEOD, Sun 18 Sep 2005, Scotland on Sunday)

IT IS barely eight months since teenager Karen Dewar was brutally murdered in the peaceful Fife coastal town of Tayport.

The case shocked the nation - and led to demands for reform of a failed system when it emerged her killer, Colyn Evans, a repeat sex offender, had been living alone and unsupervised in the community. He had been placed there in temporary accommodation by Fife Council.

Now Scotland on Sunday can reveal that the same system has led to scores more dangerous sex offenders being dumped in Fife, where they move freely and without daily monitoring.

Figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show Fife Council is currently housing 65 convicted sex offenders in single-tenancy accommodation.

Even more disturbing, it is understood a review of the controversial policy promised after the Dewar murder has been suspended - and also that many of the offenders have been housed since the killing.

Scotland on Sunday also reveals today that Scotland's police chiefs are seeking more cash to allow them to monitor non-registered and suspected sex offenders. Police keep a 'shadow' register of such people, which now contains 30,000 names.