The escape of a sex offender who cut off his electronic monitoring bracelet has sparked a renewed call for a publicly available register.

Patrick McGreevy, who is on a ten-year extended supervision order and is considered high risk, went on the run in Christchurch in the early hours of yesterday morning, but was found and arrested by the early evening.

The Sensible Sentencing Trust is outraged he was able to cut off his electronic bracelet and abscond so easily.

Spokesman Garth McVicar is urging the government to adopt a widely available sex offender register, so the public can help the police by keeping their eyes and ears open.

"We need to know who is amongst us and the risk they pose to our children."

He said the effects of abuse on victims trumps privacy.

"As an organisation we deal with a lot of the victims and I've seen the horror and the hurt and the trauma they go through."

He said he can't understand how legislation exists that allows this "debacle" to continue to happen.

Meanwhile, corrections and police have faced criticism from Upper Hutt residents earlier this week for not giving out sufficient information about a convicted child sex offender who was released in the area under GPS monitoring several months ago.

Only his immediate neighbours have been informed - sparking concern from residents and schools who had no idea he was living there.

Legislation currently going through parliament would establish a register of child sex offenders, but it would only be available to government agencies and not the general public.

McGreevy will appear in court on Monday.