Sex offender disclosure scheme to be rolled out to further 18 police force areas
All areas to be covered by March 2011
The Home Secretary, Alan Johnson, has announced the roll-out of the scheme popularly known as Sarah’s Law. The child sex offender disclosure scheme gives members of the public a formal mechanism to make enquires about people who are in contact with children. Under the terms of the scheme, a parent, carer or guardian or another interested party can request that an individual who has access to their child or children is checked to see whether they have a record of committing child sexual offences.
Piloted in four police areas over the past year, the scheme will roll out to a further 18 police force areas from August and will reach all forces by the end of March 2011.
Alan Johnson said:
‘I am determined to do all I can to protect children and families from sex offenders. The UK already has one of the most robust systems in the world for the management of sex offenders, the new scheme will build on this ensuring more children are kept safe.’
The police areas involved to date have received 585 enquiries and 315 applications, with 21 disclosures made about registered child sex offenders. A further 11 general disclosures were made, whilst another 43 cases led to a range of other child safeguarding actions.
For more information about the scheme, click here.
- Keywords:
- child protection