DES MOINES – A great deal of time, money and political rhetoric have gone into keeping track of Iowa’s sex offenders, but state figures show more are eluding authorities despite a new law.

Statistics from the Iowa Department of Public Safety show that as of last week, 298 of the more than 6,000 sex offenders statewide were unaccounted for by law enforcement, up from 142 in June.

This is after a state law went into effect in September banning offenders from living within 2,000 feet of child care centers and schools, according to a story in The Des Moines Register on Sunday.

The number of missing offenders is thought to be a conservative count because it doesn’t include those who lie about their whereabouts, those who no longer register or those who have moved into the state without registering.

Law enforcement officials complain the new law is problematic because it affects only where offenders sleep, not whom they come in contact with; it doesn’t affect thousands who offended before the new law was enacted and continue to live near children; and it treats low-level offenders the same as the worst predators.

Scott County Attorney Bill Davis said he has consulted several Iowa prosecutors and many agree the law should be repealed.

“It doesn’t make anyone safe, and it’s just plain not fair,” Davis said.

Des Moines Police Chief William McCarthy said politics will likely keep lawmakers from revising the well-intentioned law, which he said has only drained resources while giving the public a false sense of improved safety.

It’s too early to tell if the new law has caused fewer sex offenders to report their whereabouts, said Steven Conlon, assistant director of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation. He added that law enforcement agencies were more lax about updating the state’s sex offender registry before the law went into effect.

Authorities also said the state law and ordinances passed in several Iowa cities and counties have moved problems elsewhere.

Dallas County now has 52 registered sex offenders, compared with 30 in September, said Sheriff Brian Gilbert.

Senate Republican Leader Stewart Iverson, of Clarion, said offenders who pose the most risk need to be prioritized, but he said the new law can’t be blamed for sex offenders not reporting their whereabouts.

“With or without the 2,000-foot rule, the fact remains that they are supposed to tell law enforcement where they are living,” Iverson said.