NSPCC slams police over Sarah's Law
It became known as Sarah's Law and was supposed to give worried parents across England and Wales the right to ask police whether people who had access to their children had convictions for sex offences, protecting them from sexual predators.
But the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children today accused police forces of operating a "postcode lottery" after it was revealed that, on average, forces only disclosed information in 16 per cent of cases.
West Mercia Police Force, which covers Shropshire, Worcestershire and Herefordshire, has a higher than average disclosure rate – having disclosed information in 21 per cent of cases since the scheme was launched.
The figures, released under the Freedom of Information Act, showed that 124 applications were made to the force under the Child Sex Offenders Disclosure Scheme in its first three years. The force gave details out in 26 cases.
West Mercia Police claim the figures are misleading as in the majority of cases there was simply nothing to disclose.
Sarah's Law was brought in following public outrage over the savage murder of eight-year-old Sarah Payne by convicted paedophile Roy Whiting. But the NSPCC claims children are being put at risk because police are not making full use of the powers.
Across England and Wales 5,357 applications were made to 33 forces between 2011 and 2014 resulting in 877 (16 per cent) disclosures. Five other forces said they had received 908 applications but did not provide information about disclosure numbers.
Suffolk Police disclosed information for a third of applications. Sussex Police, which investigated Sarah Payne's murder, gave out information for seven per cent of applications.
NSPCC chief executive Peter Wanless said: "We are both disturbed and surprised by this wide discrepancy of figures across the country, revealing that there is a postcode lottery when it comes to how forces deal with Sarah's Law. Families need to know if there are individuals in their area who pose a risk to children."
He added: "The wide variation in disclosure numbers doesn't breed confidence that the scheme is being understood or applied consistently."
Sarah-Jane Lynch of West Mercia Police said Sarah's Law was a valuable tool which gave those responsible for caring for children information on a need to know basis.
"The figures provided by the NSPCC are misleading as it does not properly explain how this system works," she said. "In the majority of occasions, information isn't disclosed because there is no information to disclose or there is no risk to children."
"We are pleased that we have been able to provide information to protect children on a number of occasions, but it is important to understand that there are a number of other reasons why information cannot be disclosed. This can include the risk posed by the offender being increased through the disclosure of this information, and the possibility of vigilantism."
