Fathers worried about new lovers of their ex-partners are top users of Sarah's Law



Fathers worried about the new boyfriends of the mothers of their children are using the controversial 'Sarah's law' to check up on them, it was revealed today.

Figures show they made the largest number of queries during a year-long pilot of the warning system, which the Government today said is now going nationwide.

The new disclosure rules allow worried parents, relatives and neighbours to ask police if a person they were concerned about has a history of child sex abuse.

It was predicted many of the requests for information would come from women concerned about the history of their new partners.



But police found nearly one in five applications were from fathers asking about a new lover in their former partner's life.

Sarah Payne's mother Sara campaigned for a new law after her daughter was killed by a convicted paeodophile

Testing of the scheme began in September 2008 and involved the Cambridgeshire, Cleveland, Hampshire and Warwickshire police forces.



It is a watered-down version of laws in the US where details of where convicted paedophiles live are actively publicised.

Sara Payne, whose daughter Sarah was killed by convicted paedophile Roy Whiting in July 2000, led a high-profile campaign calling for a British equivalent.

HOW IT WORKS

Sarah's Law, brought in after a campaign by Sara Payne (right) covers the five main categories below. Parents, carers or guardians can ask if someone with access to their child has a record of sex offences, while other relatives can also alert police, though information will only be given to parents or guardians.



BOYFRIEND - MOTHER'S WORRIES

A single mother starts a new relationship but is worried she does not know enough about the man to allow him fully into her life. If the man has a criminal record for sex offences and police deem him a serious risk, they can pass on some of this information to the mother. But they will only do so if they are convinced it is 'necessary and proportionate' to protect the children. Information about other worrying behaviour, such as a conviction for domestic violence, or even unproven complaints of abuse may also be passed on.



BOYFRIEND - FAMILY WORRIES

A couple have suspicions about their daughter's new boyfriend and the risk he poses to their grandchildren. Like anyone else, they can already alert the police. However, as they are not directly responsible for the welfare of the children any relevant information would only go to the mother.



THE FRIENDLY NEIGHBOUR

The neighbour who plays with children: in this case, police would only release information to parents if the man has direct access. They may have a difficult balancing act to perform if they know the neighbour is an offender, but there is no reason to suggest he poses a risk because he is already co-operating with monitoring arrangements.



THE UNFRIENDLY NEIGHBOUR

If a family is concerned that a neighbour appears untrustworthy, is reclusive and is always rude, police are highly unlikely to provide any information because they have not been provided reasonable suspicion that children are at risk.



THE SPORTS COACH

Parents could ask about a local man who has been offering informal football coaching, but doesn't seem to be part of any club, leisure centre or school setup.

If he is found to be a risk, the parent would be told but asked to keep that information to themselves. Monitoring arrangements would then come into action. If he poses no risk and has simply been a little naive, police may advise him how to avoid any future misunderstandings, such as by ensuring that he can provide an up-to-date criminal record check.

One in ten of all applications during the trial uncovered the hidden criminal past of a person with access to children.



They included paedophiles who had breached the terms of the Sex Offender Register.

Under the Home Office scheme parents can ask the police about anyone with access to their children and officers will reveal details confidentially if they think it is in the child's interests.

Police may also warn parents if concerns are raised by grandparents or neighbours.



Mrs Payne, who is now the Government's official Victims' Champion, and is recovering from brain surgery, welcomed the extension of the scheme.



In a statement, she said: 'I am delighted that the years of campaigning and hard work by so many friends and colleagues have provided those who care for children with the right to check that adults who have access to them do not pose a danger.

'The evaluation has shown the huge benefits of increased but controlled access to information.'

Neighbours, other family members and friends were the other main subjects of inquiries. The forces involved in the pilot were not deluged with requests as was feared.



Worries that paedophiles would disappear underground en masse and that the revelations would result in vigilante justice were also not realised, police said.

A total of 315 applications for information were made to the four forces.



From those details of 21 paedophiles were revealed. Details of 11 individuals with different criminal pasts such as violence were also divulged. An academic study into the results of the pilots said they strengthened existing controls on sex offenders.



In one case a neighbour giving sweets to youngsters was found to be a paedophile. He was arrested for breaching a court order which barred him from contact with children.



Chief Constable Paul West from the Association of Chief Police Officers said police would now contact all the paedophiles living in the UK to inform them the scheme was being extended.



He said: 'There has been no evidence to suggest that any registered sex offenders in the areas have gone missing and been driven underground.



'The preparation for rolling out the process involved meeting every registered sex offender in the area to explain this wasn't going to be a public outing and it wasn't going to be front page news in the local paper. I think this gave a lot of reassurance.'



There are currently 32,336 registered sex offenders in England and Wales.

The scheme will begin in 18 new force areas from August, the Home Office said. It will then extend across England and Wales from March 2011.



Home Secretary Alan Johnson said: 'I am determined to do all I can to protect children and families from sex offenders.



'The UK already has one of the most robust systems in the world for the management of sex offenders. The new scheme will build on this, ensuring more children are kept safe.'