Missing sex convicts to appear on web

THE faces of paedophiles and rapists who go to ground in Scotland should be posted on the internet, according to an influential committee of MSPs.

In its long-awaited report, the Justice 2 sub-committee says police should use the internet to warn the public about dangerous sex offenders.

Police forces in England last month posted the pictures of five paedophiles on a new child protection website.

MSPs are now calling on their Scottish counterparts to do the same when a high-risk offender goes underground.

Their report, published today, recommends that "where high-risk sex offenders fail to co-operate with the relevant authorities on matters of significance [such as attending places where children gather] or abscond, their details should be provided to local communities and made available more widely, including the use, where considered appropriate, of internet websites..."

The recommendation comes after it was revealed two months ago that police had lost track of 24 known sex offenders in Scotland.

The committee has refused to support automatically informing parents of the whereabouts of paedophiles, which in Scotland has become known as "Mark's Law".

Following the death of Glasgow schoolboy Mark Cummings at the hands of a convicted sex offender, his mother has campaigned for greater disclosure.

But the committee does support the right of communities to be notified when a high-risk sex offender absconds or fails to co-operate with police and other authorities, and calls on a disclosure warning system being introduced by the Scottish Executive to come into force "as soon as possible".

Among the other recommendations in the report is the right for police to enter and search a sex offender's home without a warrant when a child living nearby goes missing, and the publication of annual statistics on the number of missing sex offenders.

Jackie Baillie MSP, the sub-committee's convener, said third party disclosure in relation to sex offenders was already "frequently and widely" used in Scotland on a case-by-case basis.

She said: "We are asking that the Scottish Executive take steps to reassure the public that existing powers of third-party notification in relation to sex offenders are used appropriately where there is concern about a particular sex offender.

"We are also seeking disclosure of details of high-risk sex offenders who fail to co-operate with the relevant authorities on matters of significance.

"On the basis of evidence we received we do not support the blanket release of sex offender's information to the public. The sub-committee heard that such notification would be counter productive to the effective monitoring, supervision and treatment of sex offenders."

First Minister Jack McConnell has already said his party will consider bringing in new disclosure powers for sex offenders and the Scottish Executive has pledged to take the recommendations of the committee "very seriously".