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| Parents get new sex crime checks | |
| (about 13 hours later) | |
| Parents may get new powers to check if people with access to their children have paedophile convictions. | |
| The scheme could be rolled out across England and Wales if trials are successful but the Home Office says information will be tightly controlled. | |
| It will allow single mothers to ask police whether potential boyfriends have child sex convictions. | |
| Campaigner Sara Payne said the scheme was a step in the right direction but she still wants full disclosure. | |
| Family members or neighbours who regularly look after children could also be checked under the new proposals. | Family members or neighbours who regularly look after children could also be checked under the new proposals. |
| Trials will take place in Cambridgeshire, Hampshire, Cleveland and Warwickshire. | |
| Disclosure controls | |
| Police and probation services will be able to decide what information to release and there will be careful controls on disclosure, but if children are thought to be at risk it is understood their guardians will be told. | Police and probation services will be able to decide what information to release and there will be careful controls on disclosure, but if children are thought to be at risk it is understood their guardians will be told. |
| There are few crimes more evil and shocking than sex offences against children Home Secretary Jacqui Smith | There are few crimes more evil and shocking than sex offences against children Home Secretary Jacqui Smith |
| Writing in The News of the World, Ms Smith said: "The system we're working on will ensure that parents and carers will be informed of anyone's offending history where a child is at risk. | |
| "The police and probation services will have the discretion to consider each case on its own merits and disclosure will be carefully controlled in all cases." | "The police and probation services will have the discretion to consider each case on its own merits and disclosure will be carefully controlled in all cases." |
| Ms Smith added: "There are few crimes more evil and shocking than sex offences against children. | Ms Smith added: "There are few crimes more evil and shocking than sex offences against children. |
| "It provokes strong emotions and strong views - and rightly so. | "It provokes strong emotions and strong views - and rightly so. |
| "Britain is one of the leading countries for managing registered sex offenders, and we've done a lot in recent years to improve public protection. But I am clear that we can do more." | "Britain is one of the leading countries for managing registered sex offenders, and we've done a lot in recent years to improve public protection. But I am clear that we can do more." |
| Rational approach | |
| The News of the World championed the "Sarah's Law" campaign which called for parents to be allowed to see details of any convicted paedophiles living in their area. | |
| It was named after eight-year-old Sarah Payne who was murdered in 2000 by Roy Whiting. | |
| The police and probation service with all the best will in the world can't watch every sex offender that there is on the register Sarah Payne | |
| Sarah's mother, Sara Payne, told BBC News 24 the pilots were a step in the right direction, but there was still a long way to go towards full public disclosure. | |
| "Roy Whiting was previously convicted and I truly believe that if a man like Roy Whiting lives in your community, then you should know that he is there," she said. | |
| "The police and probation service, with all the best will in the world, can't watch every sex offender that there is on the register and watch what relationships they are building, what new areas they are moving into. | |
| "So this is a way of parents taking some of that back." | |
| Stringent safeguards | |
| Communities and local government secretary, Hazel Blears, told BBC1's Andrew Marr Show: "As a politician I have always believed if you share information with people then they are likely to take a more mature, more rational approach." | |
| Paul Cavadino, chief executive of crime reduction charity Nacro said it supported a controlled experiment of providing information to parents, but stringent safeguards were needed to prevent abuse of the system. | |
| He believed ministers were right to resist pressure for a full system of public disclosure, warning it would cause offenders to "go to ground", making it difficult for the police and probation service to keep track of them. | |
| In the US, Megan's Law was named after seven-year-old Megan Kanka who was killed by convicted sex offender Jesse Timmendequas in New Jersey in 1994. | In the US, Megan's Law was named after seven-year-old Megan Kanka who was killed by convicted sex offender Jesse Timmendequas in New Jersey in 1994. |
| The legislation was adopted in various forms across 50 states. It allows public access to information on the history and whereabouts of high-risk offenders, which supporters say has been a valuable deterrent. | |
| But opponents argue the American law encourages acts of vigilantism and drives paedophiles underground, putting children at greater risk. | |
| Past studies have also shown far fewer paedophiles comply with registration requirements in the US than in the UK. |