Frequently Asked Questions

Any member of the public can go to the police to raise a child protection concern about a specific person or specific children. The police will investigate that concern, but there should be no expectation of disclosure about child sex offences.

In the disclosure pilot, the applicant (person requesting disclosure) has to be a parent, carer or guardian and request disclosure on a named individual who has contact with their child or children.

This can include concerns about a new person who has moved into their lives, for example, a mother introducing a new partner to the family.

Even if there are no firm grounds for suspicion, the applicant can trigger an investigation to find out if the subject (the person they are asking about) has a known history that means they might be of risk to children.

They should contact the dedicated telephone number - 01642 302902.

They should contact the police or their local Children’s Service and the usual child safeguarding procedures will be triggered.

Yes it does. Under the Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA), information is disclosed to an individual or group where it is felt necessary or proportionate to protect children from crime. MAPPA is the process through which the police, probation and prison services work together with other agencies to manage the risks posed by violence and sexual offenders living in the community in order to protect the public.

The police already disclose information about registered sex offenders in a controlled way and to a variety of people including head teachers, leisure centre managers, employers and landlords, as well as parents.

This pilot is a spur where a parent, carer or guardian can find out about possible child sex offenders who are in close proximity to their children.

MAPPA is responsible for managing registered sexual offenders, including child sexual offenders, during the course of the time which they need to report to the services, as well as violent offenders and other dangerous offenders.

Information from a MAPP meeting might be given to another person or a group of people in order to protect them from the offender, or for them to protect others. This is called disclosure.

For example, leisure staff might be alerted where a local offender is felt to pose a risk to those using the centre.

If the checks show that the subject of the enquiry has a record for child sexual offences, the applicant may be given information about that person’s record that is relevant, necessary and proportionate in order to protect their children.

If the person enquired about does not have a record of child sexual offences then there won’t be any disclosure because there isn’t anything to disclose. The police will give you more information and advice on safeguarding children to the applicant, and make sure they are aware of what local and national support is available.

It may be the case that the subject is not known to the police for child sexual offences but is showing worrying behaviour, or is known for other offences that might put your children’s safety at risk – such as serious domestic violence.

In this case the police will work with the parent, carer, or guardian to protect the children and provide advice and support under the usual safeguarding children procedures.

Any disclosure is a considered decision which takes place with agreement and advice from the local MAPPA responsible for managing registered sex offenders.

No, confidentiality will be maintained unless a disclosure takes place. If a disclosure does take place the subject may be informed that the applicant is to receive a disclosure about them.

The police will keep a record of all investigations for the pilot evaluation and policing purposes. This is not a criminal investigation.

The pilot runs for 12 months and then it will be evaluated by the Home Office. A decision will then be taken on whether the pilot is rolled out nationally.

No. Megan’s Law operates in the United States and involves the automatic disclosure of sex offender details to the general public. Sarah’s Law is a campaign being run by a national paper calling for the law to give parents the right to know if a child sexual offender is living in the area.

The pilot is a carefully managed disclosure to named individuals with direct responsibility for a child’s safety who request information about a specific individual. Disclosure is not automatic.

All the registered sex offenders living in the pilot area have been written to and are aware of the pilot. If a disclosure takes place, the subject may be informed.

Information about disclosure should be treated as confidential. It is only being given so that steps can be taken to protect children. Applicants must not share this information with anyone else unless they have spoken to the police, or the person who gave them the information, and the police have agreed that it can be shared.