July 29, 2010 - Child Sexual Offender Disclosure Scheme Starts 2nd August 2010

The Home Office has announced a scheme allowing parents to check if someone is a sex offender will be rolled out across England and Wales by March 2011. The pilot scheme, in four areas, Warwickshire, Southampton, Stockton in Teeside and parts of Cambridgeshire have, it is said already protected 60 children.
All forces will undertake an information campaign to educate the public about the scheme and work to manage sex offenders. More information about the disclosure pilots, including leaflets and booklets being used by the police forces, can be found at click here
for more information click here and here.

Under this scheme a parent carer or guardian or other interesed party can request that an individual who has access to their child or children is checked to see whether they have a conviction of child sexual offences.

The 8 forces joining the 4 pilot areas to undertake this scheme are: West Mercia, Bedfordshire, Norfolk, North Yorkshire, Thames Valley, West Midlands, Essex and Suffolk.In the autumn the scheme will roll out to Northamptonshire, Staffordshire, Sussex, Leicestershire, Wiltshire, Cheshire, Durham, Northumbria, Dorset, Lincolnshire, Surrey and Gloucestershire.
All other police forces should be included from March 2011. Scotland is also planning to role out the scheme across Scotland soon.