June 13, 2007: New Measures For Sex Offenders

A range of new measures aimed at enhancing the protection of children from sex offenders was unveiled today by Home Secretary John Reid. The 'Review of the Protection of Children from Sex Offenders'  has considered what extra steps are needed to enhance the protection of children from sex offenders.

It looked at evidence from stakeholders, current operational practice and how other countries tackle the issue. The review sets out 20 actions to further strengthen efforts to keep children safe, including:

• Pilot a new process allowing parents or guardians to, for the first time, request details of possible sex offenders in certain defined circumstances;
• Introduce a legal duty on the police and probation services to consider in each case whether a child sex offender’s conviction should be disclosed in order to protect the child, with a presumption towards disclosure;
• Review the use of satellite tracking to monitor high risk sex offenders;
• Develop the use of drug treatment to help reduce sexual drive and subsequent offending;
• Pilot the use of compulsory polygraph tests to ensure child sex offenders are not reoffending;
• Extend the information that offenders must provide when on the Sex Offenders Register to include for example email addresses, or when they are starting a relationship with a woman who has children;
• Community awareness campaigns to ensure parents are aware of how child sex offenders are managed and how they can best protect their children.

Home Secretary John Reid said:

“There are few crimes more horrific than sexual offences against children. Ensuring that this most vulnerable group in society are safe is at the heart of the Government’s agenda."

"The UK already has the strongest restrictions on child sex offenders. Today’s new measures will strengthen protection allowing disclosure for concerned parents and guardians and tougher treatment for those abusing children."

“For the first time there will be circumstances where members of the public will have the right to request details of possible sex offenders who may have contact with their children. The review introduces a wide range of new measures and it is right that we ensure these are correctly implemented through a piloting process.”

Responding to the publication of the Child Sex Offender Review, Harry Fletcher, Assistant General Secretary of probation union Napo, said:

“The decision not to disclose information to the general public is welcomed. Had disclosure occurred sex offenders would have gone to ground and the job of protecting children would have been much more difficult. The decision to allow vulnerable women and others limited access to information is fraught with practical problems. The most vulnerable women are in all probability the least likely to seek advice and help. There would have to be safeguards to ensure that the information was accurate."

Repeated research has shown that the police national computer contains many errors. There would also need to be safeguards to ensure that the information was not handed on and therefore resulted in vigilante action. It is extremely difficult to see how this scheme would work in practice.”

“It is extremely worrying that the Home Secretary has spoken of the need to break the monopoly of information about sex offenders held by professionals. The information is not a commodity; it is highly sensitive and must be kept confidential. This sounds like a sop to certain tabloid papers. It is important that any extension of drug treatment is voluntary and Ministers must be aware that many sex offenders are driven by a need to abuse power."

"Research from the United States shows that Megan’s Law has proved to be extremely expensive, has involved huge amounts of police and probation time, that up to half the information held has been inaccurate, that paedophiles go missing, and that there is no evidence to suggest that disclosure cuts crime."

In response to the Child Sex Offender Review report, Terry Grange, Association Chief Police Officers (ACPO) lead on Child Protection and Chief Constable of Dyfed Powys, said:

“ACPO have been working with the Home Office during the review period and are confident that the measures being taken will improve safety for our children. The police service is committed to protecting the most vulnerable groups in our communities and will implement the measures announced today by the Home Office.”

The Home Office and Ministry of Justice will provide an extra £1.2 million to Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) areas to increase their capacity to manage offenders and protect the public. The new system of disclosure will initially be piloted in three police forces backed by £1.5 million in new resources. In addition, the Government will be committing £150,000 to pilot a community-awareness campaign in partnership with the Stop It Now! charity.