Why should we bother following your FB Page or keeping up to date with the Sexual Assault website. Surely the police and sex offenders register will be available online and anyone doing a search will find information about any convicted paedophiles or sex offenders?
NOPE. All police forces in the UK only keep information on their website for a certain period of time, even if a paedophile has raped several children and is a known danger to society most forces will only keep their information up for 6 months. For example here is Sussex Police’s Media and Social Media practices
What about the sex offender register, in the USA you can search to see if a paedophile lives near you.
NOT IN THE UK. You will have more chance finding out next week’s lottery number than getting a sex offender’s name or details from the registry. Check out this page from the Metropolitan Police highlighting all the things you can do to keep your loved one’s safe in the UK.
There you go, Sarah’s Law will protect us.
SORRY, NO. The police go to great lengths to ensure that they do not have to give out any information about sex offenders when someone uses Sarah’s Law. Would you go through this process realistically?
Sarah’s Law – The “how to” and success rates:
Sarah’s Law, officially known as the Child Sex Offender Disclosure Scheme (CSODS), allows parents, carers, or guardians in England and Wales to request information from the police about a person who has contact with a child, if they are concerned that person may pose a risk.
Here’s the entire process of a Sarah’s Law application in England:
- Making the Application (Initial Request):
Who can apply: Anyone concerned about a child’s safety in relation to a specific individual. This includes parents, guardians, carers, grandparents, neighbours, or friends.
How to apply:
- Online (through your local police force’s website).
- By calling 101 (the non-emergency police number).
- By visiting your local police station.
Information required: You’ll be asked for your personal details, contact details, information about the person you’re asking about (name, age, address, etc.), details of the child/children you’re worried about, and the reasons for your concern.
Important Note: Sarah’s Law is for requesting information; it’s not for reporting a crime. If there’s an immediate risk to a child, you should call 999.
- Initial Police Checks (within 24 hours):
Once the application is submitted, the police will conduct initial checks within 24 hours.
If there’s an immediate danger to a child, they will take action right away.
If no immediate danger is identified, they will contact you to either:
- Arrange a more in-depth interview.
- Tell you that they are not progressing your application and explain why, offering alternative advice if appropriate.
- In-depth Interview (within 10 days, if progressed):
If the police decide to progress your application, they will arrange an in-depth interview, usually within 10 days of your initial application. This is typically in person but can be over the phone.
What you’ll need: You’ll need to provide proof of your identity and address (e.g., passport, driving license, utility bill, bank statement) and proof of your relationship to the child/children (e.g., birth certificate, “red book”).
You will be warned about the consequences of providing false information.
- Full Assessment and Multi-Agency Review:
The police will conduct detailed checks on the person you’re asking about, utilizing all available information to assess if they pose a risk to the child.
This often involves working with other agencies like social care services, probation, and health services. Information you provided in your application may be shared with these agencies.
If there’s a likelihood of disclosure, the police may speak to the subject of the application, unless it’s deemed inappropriate.
A multi-agency forum (including police, social services, and safeguarding professionals) will make a decision on whether disclosure is necessary and proportionate.
- Disclosure Decision:
If information is to be shared: The police will share the relevant information with the person best placed to protect the child. This might not be the applicant, but could be the child’s parents or another guardian. You will be asked to sign a legal confidentiality agreement, promising not to share the information with anyone else. Failure to do so will result in no disclosure being made to you.
If there is no information to share: If the person has no record of child sexual offences and poses no known or suspected risks, you will be informed that there is no information to disclose.
Timeframe:
The entire process, from initial inquiry to disclosure (or notification of no disclosure), should take no more than 45 days, unless there are exceptional circumstances.
How many times do the police refuse to give any information?
The police do refuse to give information under Sarah’s Law, as disclosure is only made when it is deemed “relevant, necessary and proportionate” to protect a child. They will not disclose information if:
- The request does not genuinely fall under the scope of Sarah’s Law (e.g., you are not concerned about a specific person in contact with a specific child).
- There is no information to suggest the individual poses a risk to children.
- The disclosure is not considered to be in the interest of the child’s welfare or is believed to increase the risk of harm.
- The applicant refuses to sign the confidentiality agreement.
- The police cannot verify the applicant’s identity or relationship to the child.
While precise refusal rates are not routinely published in an easily accessible format for all forces, available data from the Metropolitan Police and past pilot schemes give some indication:
Pilot Scheme (2008): Out of 600 inquiries and 315 formal applications, there were 21 direct disclosures of child sex offender information. This indicates a significant number of applications did not lead to a direct disclosure of offending history, though 43 cases led to “other actions” like referrals to social services.
Metropolitan Police (2021-2023):
2021-2022: 134 applications made, 13 disclosures about Registered Sex Offenders.
2022-2023: 199 applications made, 18 disclosures about Registered Sex Offenders.
These figures show that while a substantial number of applications are made, the percentage of applications that result in a direct disclosure of a registered sex offender’s information is relatively low. This is because the scheme focuses on risk to the child, which may not always equate to a previous conviction as a Registered Sex Offender. The police may take other safeguarding actions, such as referring concerns to social services, even if no formal disclosure is made to the applicant.
It’s also important to remember that the majority of child abusers are known to the victim and may not have previous convictions, which Sarah’s Law is primarily designed to disclose.
THE BOTTOM LINE
There is no way in the UK to proactively protect your loved one just relying on the Police and Government bodies. The responsibility is definitely on the individual being aware and clued up. So that is why we ask people to follow us:)
If you or anyone you know have been affected by the people highlighted in this article, then please report those individuals to the Police on 101 (999 if an emergency) or visit their online resources for further details of the options for reporting a crime. You can also make a report at Crimestoppers should you wish to be completely anonymous. There is help available on our support links page.