What is the Child Sex Offenders Disclosure Scheme?
The police have for some time disclosed
information about registered sex
offenders and violent offenders in a
controlled way to a variety of people including head teachers,
leisure centre managers, employers, landlords as well as
parents.
The difference between this scheme and what the police can
already disclose is; that it introduces the principle of a two way
disclosure by inviting people to ask about a person's history. It
provides a formal way for people to make an application about a
particular individual who has contact with a child or children.
The new scheme encourages individuals to take
responsibility for the safety of their children and
because of the two way exchange of information the scheme also
alerts authorities to potential contact between a child sex
offender and a child which they may not have known
about.
Who can apply?
Parents, guardians, carers and other interested
third parties such as grandparents or friends of
someone who has a child. For example an application could be made
by someone who has entered into a new relationship with someone and
their new partner will have contact with their children.
How can an application be made?
To start the application process you can telephone Cheshire
Police on 0845 458 0000, or call in at your
local police station.
What will happen next?
An appointment will be made to speak to a
member of staff who will discuss the application with you, complete
the necessary forms, and ask you for proof of identification.
Once the forms have been completed a series of checks and
enquiries are made to see what information exists about the
person.
By making a request for disclosure a person will also be
registering their concerns about the possible risks to the safety
of a child or children.
Everyone involved in delivering this scheme has the protection
of children as their primary aim and processes already in place to
safeguard children remain unchanged and the police will work
closely with other agencies involved in safeguarding children to
put the child’s safety first.
Who decides what information if any will be given about a
person?
When the relevant forms have been completed and checks have been
made a public protection trained police officer will review
the information available and submit is as part of
existing Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements. The multi
agency group will then decide what information if any needs to
given out and who is best place to have access to that information
in order to protect the child. They will also decide if the person
the information relates to should be told about the impending
disclosure of information.
When will information be disclosed?
Information will only be disclosed if the
checks made identify a need to protect a child and that the
disclosure is lawful, necessary and proportionate.
Disclosure includes the disclosure of information about a
person’s convictions for child sex offences and any other relevant
information deemed necessary to protect a child for example serious
domestic violence offences.
Who will the information be disclosed to?
It will be disclosed to the person best-placed to
protect the child, and persons receiving the information
must keep it confidential and use it only to protect the child
concerned.
The person best placed to protect a child may not be the same
person who has made the initial application so it may be the case
that no information is disclosed to the person making the
application but if there is a need to protect a child a third party
may be given the information.
What information can be disclosed?
Details of a person’s previous convictions for a sexual offence
or violent offence (where it is considered the person would pose a
risk of harm to children), or specific intelligence which would
indicate the person would be a risk to children.
How will the disclosure be made?
If it is deemed necessary and proportionate to disclose
information about someone the person best placed to protect the
child will be spoken to by a public protection trained police
officer. The person who receives the information may not be the
original applicant.
How soon will I receive the information?
There are several stages to the disclosure scheme but the
maximum amount of time a person would expect to wait to receive
information, if they are deemed as being the best placed person to
protect a child, is 45 days.[01] Time scales will
be largely dependant on what information relates to individual
case.
Will the information be disclosed to more than one
applicant?
The Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements [02] consider a
variety of factors including who has contact with the child and
will decide who is best placed to have access to the
information. This may be more than one person for example
a child’s mother, father and perhaps grandparents.
Will the subject of the enquiry be notified of the application,
and if so will they know the identity of the applicant?
In the event of the police disclosing information about an
individual they will strive to maintain the confidentiality
of the applicant, and consult the applicant's views prior
to contacting the individual concerned.
If a disclosure does take place the person the information
relates to may be informed that the parent/carer/guardian of the
child(ren) is to receive information about their relevant criminal
history. All disclosures are carefully planned by police and
partner agencies, to minimise risk of harm to all concerned.
Is this the same as Megan’s Law in the USA?
No Megan’s law relates to public disclosure of
the identity of sex offenders. This does not happen under the
scheme. Disclosure is confidential and should not be shared with
anyone else, and should only be used to protect the child. Anyone
found breaching this confidentiality could have action taken
against them.
Is this Sarah’s Law?
No. Sarah's Law is a campaign being run by a
national newspaper calling for a change in the law to give parents
the right to know if a child sexual offender is living in their
immediate area.
How will police deal with any local tensions that arise as a
result information being disclosed about a child sex offender?
The police and other agencies are in regular contact
with offenders and the disclosure process will be
carefully managed. If an individual feels they are being targeted,
they should contact the police. In all cases of disclosure the
risks to the offender and the community impact will be considered,
however, the protection of children will be the key determining
factor.
Does the scheme replace existing arrangements for Vetting and
Child Safeguarding disclosure?
No, if you are enquiring about a prospective
employee, or someone you already employ, then existing procedures
still apply with the Criminal Records Bureau, refer to www.crb.gov.uk, or call
0870 90 90 811.
Safeguarding Children and Multi Agency Public Protection
Arrangements around making disclosure are unchanged.
Have you recruited extra staff to enable your compliance with
the scheme?
Cheshire is joining the scheme following several other Forces
who have previously piloted the scheme. The pilot schemes have
indicated that the scheme is manageable within existing units as
our trained public protection police officers do this work
already.
What happens if you are enquiring about someone who lives
outside Cheshire
If the person making the application lives in Cheshire then
Cheshire Police will process the enquiry working closely with any
other Police Force where the person being enquired about may
live.