Sex offender scheme to be rolled out across Scotland

A scheme giving concerned parents the right to know if a sex offender has access to their children will start being rolled out across the country this week, it was announced today.

Fife and Central Scotland are the latest police force areas which will see parents, carers and guardians allowed to formally register their concerns with the authorities. It follows a successful pilot in Tayside earlier this year.

The scheme comes into effect on Wednesday, with other forces in Scotland set to follow soon.

Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said: "The feedback from parents, carers and guardians has been extremely positive and we have no hesitation in rolling the scheme out right across the country.

"This initiative provides another link which will assist in protecting children from harm.

"As with any pilot, there will be improvements to processes which can be made and any lessons learned will now be taken on board by Scotland's police forces and fed into the disclosure scheme as it is rolled out in other communities in Scotland."

An evaluation of the Tayside pilot published today concluded that the scheme has enhanced existing child protection arrangements, with parents reported to be "very positive" about the pilot.

It allowed members of the public to call for background checks - with a presumption that police will tell parents if the person identified has convictions for sex offences.

If a youngster is found to be at serious risk of harm then child protection measures will be instigated.

Today's report finds that in one case, the disclosure scheme resulted in one registered sex offender being returned to prison for breaching his conditions of licence.

The report shows there were 53 inquiries made over the course of the 36-week pilot - the majority by parents. There were 25 child concern reports raised and specific actions taken as a result.

It also found no evidence that the the scheme led to a change in the behaviour of registered sex offenders and there were no reports of vigilante attacks.

Mr MacAskill announced earlier this year that the scheme would be rolled out across the country.

Assistant Chief Constable Iain Livingstone, of the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (Acpos), said: "The police service in Scotland welcomes the implementation of the sex offender disclosure scheme in Fife and Central Scotland.

"The scheme adds to existing child-protection measures, increasing the intelligence police have in relation to monitoring offenders, adding to our ability to protect children and other vulnerable members of our community."