Thousands of sex offenders in WA and 800 classed as 'high risk' Thousands of sex offenders are living in the WA community. THERE are 800 child sex offenders in WA who police fear are at a high risk of reoffending. The sex-offender management squad is monitoring 2849 reportable offenders who pose a risk to children. Of those, 170 are considered dangerous enough to be labelled a "very high" risk of hurting children again and must report to police at least once a month. Another 630 are considered a "high" risk and have to check in once every three months. Another 1694 offenders are considered a "medium" or "low" risk and only report to police once or twice a year. WA Police said the risk ratings were based on a "comprehensive risk matrix assessment" that considered whether the offender was likely to commit further crimes, the seriousness of their previous offences and operational logistics. Police also revealed that 18 of the offenders on the database had reoffended already this year. Last year, 34 offenders on the list reoffended. This is despite assurances when the database was created in 2005 that it would provide the most "stringent and toughest reporting requirements for convicted pedophiles and serious sex offenders in the country" and that it would act as a "deterrent" to reoffending. The database has grown by 422 per cent since 2005. Ellen Rowe, from the Homicide Victims Support Group, said she was alarmed by the figures and shocked by how many had reoffended this year. "Eighteen child sex reoffending cases this year are 18 too many," Ms Rowe said. It is of great concern that child sex abuse continues to occur in our community and the public safety net is not working as effectively as we are led to believe. Ms Rowe said the group believed the public sex-offender register, which allowed people to access information about sex offenders living in their community, was a valuable and useful tool and believed it helped to act as a deterrent. But Griffith University psychologist Stephen Smallbone, who has conducted a number of studies on child sex offenders, said governments should focus efforts on prevention rather than reaction. "Dealing with sex offenders after they have offended does nothing to repair the fact that people have been hurt by the offending in the past," he said. What you want to do is prevent kids from being abused in the first place. And prevent offenders from committing an offence in the first place. Prof Smallbone said the incidence of "stranger" offences was low. The most common place for a child to be abused is within the home. Our research tells us that about in about 80 per cent of cases the child is first abused either in their home or the offender's home, and usually that's the same place," he said. Stranger offences are less common. They can often be more serious in the sense there can be a connection between abduction and violence but the actual incidence is low.