Safer children hope as Yorkshire joins roll-out of Sarah's Law

The Child Sex Offender Disclosure scheme – a result of the murder of schoolgirl Sarah Payne – went live across North Yorkshire yesterday after successful pilots in other parts of the country.

As part of a national phased roll-out, North Yorkshire joined 20 other forces who will adopt the scheme this year, providing added reassurance to parents worried about those in contact with their children.

This scheme gives a parent or guardian the right to check with police if anyone with regular unsupervised access to their children has a criminal conviction for child sex offences.

Home Secretary Theresa May said the programme, which follows the abduction and murder of eight-year-old Sarah by convicted sex offender Roy Whiting 10 years ago, would also help police manage known sex offenders more effectively.

"Being able to make these checks reassures parents and the community and more importantly keeps children safer," she said.

"Not only will it help parents, carers or guardians ensure that their children are safe, but it also assists the police in managing known sex offenders living in the community more effectively. The start of the nationwide roll-out will mean even more children will be protected from potential harm."

Sarah Payne's mother, Sara, was crowned the government's Victims' Champion after her ceaseless attempts to bring in the law based on the so-called Megan's Law in the US which allows the publication of names, addresses and pictures of paedophiles in some states.

More than 60 children were protected from abuse during the pilot scheme which started in four areas of the UK in September 2008, the Home Office said.

Almost 600 inquiries to the four forces involved in the pilot led to 315 applications and 21 disclosures about registered child sex offenders.

Det Chief Insp Kerrin Smith, Head of the Protecting Vulnerable Persons (PVP) Unit at North Yorkshire Police, said: "The Disclosure Scheme is a major development in protecting children and we welcome the expansion into North Yorkshire.

"Protecting children from harm is a major priority for us and the new arrangements will provide us with an enhanced ability to protect children as well as empowering parents and carers to keep their children safe.

"It is essential that they have the ability to raise their own concerns and have some informed control over whom they allow close to their children."

Police have set up a dedicated phone line – 01609 768003 – for the public to call.

Det Chief Insp Smith added: "It is imperative that if any member of the public has any form of concern that they contact the police."

The president of the Association of Chief Police Officers, Sir Hugh Orde, said the law provided reassurance.

Asked whether he was concerned that the law might have unintended consequences, he said: "There are always risks.

"With all the other parts of the police service working also in this area, I do think we have got a real hope of keeping people safer and keeping young people safer, which is very important."

Cambridgeshire, Cleveland, Hampshire and Warwickshire are already operating the scheme. From yesterday they were joined by North Yorkshire, West Mercia, Bedfordshire, Norfolk, Thames Valley, West Midlands, Essex and Suffolk.

A further expansion is planned for the autumn, with Northamptonshire, Staffordshire, Sussex, Leicestershire, Wiltshire, Cheshire, Durham, Northumbria, Dorset, Lincolnshire, Surrey and Gloucestershire joining the scheme.