New proposals to protect the public from sex offenders

A UK version of Megan’s Law is again under the spotlight. Government proposals contained in a paper overseen by Home Office minister Gerry Sutcliffe, includes a number of measures such as limited information on local sex offenders and allowing single mothers to request criminal record information on their partners.

After many voiced concerns that a ‘naming and shaming’ tactic would lead to a culture of vigilantism and influence sex offenders to collaborate underground, it seems a balance is being sought in the new proposals.

One proposal is to allow single mothers to ask the police to check the background of a new partner to find out whether he is a sex offender.

According to the Guardian newspaper, the interim report will propose “allowing individuals to request criminal record information directly”, reforming the current one way disclosure, in which the police or other agencies warn women that their children could be at risk from a partner. The proposals aim to tackle predatory offenders.

The newspaper added that grounds for suspicion would be needed and strict penalties would be issued to those who abused information, including by making it public.

A further proposal would give people in a community “the right to be told by police or other authorities whether there are any child sex offenders living in their local community and how they were being managed, but not where they lived,” claimed the Guardian.

It is believed that the proposals will be sent to police, the probation service and other agencies next month.

Despite public pressure, questions have been raised whether a UK version of Megan’s Law would work, with politicians and police chiefs alike harbouring concerns that such a move could encourage vigilantes, driving sex offenders underground, making them far harder to manage and ultimately putting children at greater risk.

Non-compliance of sex offenders to register in the US is much higher than in the UK, which has a compliance rate of 95 per cent.

A Home Office source told the Guardian that the aim of the proposals was to ensure “a balance is struck so that people who have a just and reasonable concern or cause for concern can find out reasonable information.”

Although the Home Office refused to confirm the proposals, a spokesperson said: “The Child Sex Offender Review is ongoing and our primary concern is public protection. Information should not be the sole property of officials and efforts are being aimed at issues of public disclosure and public awareness.”

Zoe Hilton, Policy Advisor, National Society for the Protection of Children (NSPCC), told Police Professional that protecting single mothers should not be focused on rights, but on a proper agency response.

She said: “In our view, the proposals do not resonate with real life. The proposals are couched in terms of rights and we believe single mothers with concerns won’t demand criminal records. Furthermore, if no criminal records are discovered against an individual who represents a threat, there is a danger of single mother being falsely reassured. There must be an agency response made up of the police and social services.”