Child Sex Offender Disclosure Scheme

Child Sex Offender Disclosure Scheme

It is important to note that anyone with concerns that a child is at risk of immediate harm should contact the police by telephoning 101 or 999 in an emergency. The Child Sex Offender Disclosure Scheme does not replace the existing arrangements for responding to situations where there is an imminent risk of harm to a child.

Threats to a child's safety are more likely to originate from a family member or a friend of a family than a complete stranger. Around 75 per cent of child sex offenders are related to or known to their victim. The Child Sex Offender Disclosure Scheme has been developed to respond to this.

The scheme allows members of the public - parents, carers, guardians or interested third parties - to ask the police to tell them about a person's record of child sex offences if they are concerned about that person's access to a child.

The police already disclose 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 and parents. The disclosure scheme is an additional tool that the police can use to keep children safe.

When Will Information Be Disclosed?

Disclosure will only happen if the police believe there is a need to protect a child and that it is necessary and proportionate. Information will only be disclosed to the person best-placed to protect the child and anyone receiving this information must keep it confidential and use it only to protect the child concerned.

The Child Sex Offender Disclosure Scheme is not a UK version of 'Megan's Law', the scheme which operates in the USA and makes all information about sex offenders publicly available. Anyone who breaches the confidence of the UK scheme may have action taken against them by the police.

Registered sex offenders living in Surrey will be generally informed about the scheme. Individual offenders may be told if information relating to them is going to be disclosed and who it will be disclosed to.

If there is no information to disclose, this does not necessarily mean there is no risk to the child.

In order to raise public confidence, the scheme is not restricted to convicted child sexual offenders - it can also include any person who poses a risk of harm to children. For example:

• Persons who are convicted of other offences - for example, serious domestic violence.
• Persons who are un-convicted but whom the police or any other agency holds intelligence on indicating that they pose a risk of harm to children.

How Can I Request Information?

Requests for disclosure can be made directly to Surrey Police by phone on 101 or by calling at your local police station.

This will trigger the following process

• Initial contact - Details of your enquiry will be taken over the telephone.
• Face-to-face meeting - You will be seen in a face-to-face meeting within ten days. You will need to provide proof of your identity and your relationship to the child or children if applicable.
• Empowerment/education - You will be given an information pack on the Disclosure Scheme.
• Disclosure or non-disclosure - Following a staged risk assessment and decision-making process, we will inform you that either: there have been no concerns raised by your enquiry and therefore there is nothing to disclose, or we will make a disclosure to the person best placed to protect the child or children.