Paedophiles are identified in first month of child protection scheme

TWO paedophiles who had access to children in Edinburgh have been identified by a new scheme allowing parents to find out whether convicted abusers had contact with their youngsters.

Both of the sex offenders were caught during the first month of the Keeping Children Safe initiative, which was launched in the Lothian and Borders force area on March 31.

Under the initiative, parents, carers and guardians of youngsters under 18 can ask the police if a person who has contact with that child has a record for offences that might put their child at risk.

Lothian and Borders Police received 13 requests for information during April, including seven in Edinburgh, three between Midlothian and East Lothian, and three in West Lothian.

Background checks found that two people in the Capital had child sex convictions, and the information was disclosed to the child's parent or guardian.

In West Lothian, a disclosure was made against an individual considered a risk, although they were not a convicted child abuser. The figures for last month showed that eight information requests had "decisions pending", while no disclosure was made in two cases.

Under the scheme, parents or guardians will be given details on any relevant offences. If police deem there to be a serious or immediate risk, safety measures will be taken.

Anne Houston, chief Executive of child welfare charity Children 1st, said: "It is reassuring to see that the Keeping Children Safe initiative is being used by the public and that it is also proving to be effective. If parents or carers have suspicions about someone in their community who has access to their children, they should and can act on this.

"To protect Scotland's children we need to improve the monitoring and supervision of people who have harmed children before and this is a significant step in the right direction."

Detective Superintendent Lesley Boal said: "Since going live in Lothian and Borders, Keeping Children Safe has so far received 25 applications, which is slightly higher than expected. On speaking to applicants, most have only made the application after hearing about the scheme through local radio or reading about it in newspapers.

"Child protection has been and always will be a high priority for Lothian and Borders Police and we will work closely with our partner agencies, local media, parents, carers and the community to do all we can to safeguard children from harm.

"Anyone who wishes to know more about Keeping Children Safe can visit the new website at www.keepingchildrensafe.police.uk."

Figures from last year showed that 507 registered sex offenders were living in the Lothians while 152 were currently serving prison sentences.

In September, figures revealed that 49 of these sex offenders were the subject of Sopos (sexual offence prevention orders), which can impose restrictions on where a person can live and ban them from approaching children.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: "This scheme allows parents to register their concerns and be told whether an adult in contact with their children has a conviction for sexual offences.

"We will continue to offer our support to police forces as they carry out their excellent work in keeping our children safe."