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Original poster

How would Sarah's law have saved Sarah Payne

22 replies

DuelingFanjo · 01/08/2010 10:37

I am not sure how I feel about Sarah's law. There are 5 scenarios on the BBC news site to show how it could be used but IIRC Sarah Payne was taken while on holiday by a complete stranger?

Obviously we all want our children to be safe but does being able to check the background of a new boyfriend really do much to help the kids who are abducted by strangers?

story

OP posts:
ISNT · 01/08/2010 10:59

You're right it wouldn't have prevented what happened to sarah payne.

AgentZigzag · 01/08/2010 13:13

From what I can gather, Sara Payne believes that Sarah would not have been murdered if she'd have known Whiting was living in the area.

Presumably this is because she wouldn't have made the decicion to let her children go off and play on their own that evening.

I don't subscribe to the argument that it'd send sex offenders underground, they are by definition of their offences, manipulative and secretive, and I don't think they should be helped by the state to continue passing themselves off as family men anymore.

Any vigilante attacks on anyone should be dealt with as the criminal offences they are.

ISNT · 01/08/2010 14:10

But this new law would not have meant that sarah's mother knew that he was living in the area, as far as I can see.

QuantaCosta · 01/08/2010 14:29

Iirc he wasn't actually living in the area. He lived about 30 miles away so no one in that locality would have been made aware of him anyway.

The Sarah Payne situation is so particulalry tragic because, other than having the Roy Whitings of this world exterminated, there wasn't really anything that could have prevented this.

DinahRod · 01/08/2010 14:36

tempting thought

AgentZigzag · 01/08/2010 15:14

It's controlled access to who is living in your area, so theoretically she might have known, depends on how large the area is you can know about.

But it probably wouldn't have crossed her mind to ask, especially as she wouldn't be asking about a specific person.

Just looking on google though, she does seem pretty insistant it could have helped protect Sarah, but it doesn't say why she thinks that.

expatinscotland · 01/08/2010 15:18

I'd rather that paedos were just locked up for life, with no access to computers ever again.

lifeissweet · 01/08/2010 15:21

If the area you are allowed to know about is that huge, then it is highly likely that there is a sex offender within 30 miles of you anyway. I still don't see how helpful that information is.

ISNT · 01/08/2010 15:27

You can't know about everyone living in the area. According to that BBC link, someone close to a child eg parent, grandparent, can ask for info about specific individuals who have access to the child. And teh info will only be given to the carer so eg if the GPs ask about the neighbour who the children play with, and there is a cause for concern, the carer will be told.

So in the case of sarah payne it would have made no difference as far as I can see.

wb · 01/08/2010 19:59

I agree, no difference in that case.

I live in a large city - I'm sure they are many pedophiles within 30 miles. Not all will be known by the police. Still not going to keep my kids in sight for ever.

ragged · 02/08/2010 13:28

What Quanta said -- most of us live within 3 miles of some Dangerous Freak. I don't need to know specifics.

I feel uncomfortable with a lot of things that Sara Payne says, tbh.

LolaKnickers · 02/08/2010 15:20

If you are concerned enough about someone with access to your child being a potential paedophile, then you really shouldn't need the response to a police enquiry before deciding they shouldn't have access to your child. Let's face it, everyone in a professional setting(teacher's etc) will be CRB checked to work with children.

Agree with others that this would not have stopped Whiting from killing Sarah Payne.

withorwithoutyou · 02/08/2010 18:54

Plus, Sarah's law will only tell you about conviceted sex offenders.

It guess it could lull parents into a false sense of security - taking risks because they "know" there are no sex offenders in the area.

mamatomany · 02/08/2010 19:03

Exactly with or without you, quite honestly I do not want to know about the convicted paedophiles being monitored I want to know about all the others who haven't been caught yet, that is where the money and efforts should be concentrated.

LIZS · 02/08/2010 19:08

Surely the case demonstrates that determined paedophiles will just go beyond their immediate area to offend as it would be less likely for blame immediately to be laid at their door. Although presumably their dna is kept on file on release so it would only be a matter of time. I have huge respect for Sara Payne and the dignity with which she has born the tragedy but can't help wondering if her daughter's memory has somehow been hijacked in the name of another cause.

trainsetter · 02/08/2010 19:09

I remember reading an interview at the time where Sara Payne said she wouldn't have let the children go off to play if she had known a sex offender was nearby.

LIZS · 02/08/2010 19:15

but the thing is, she would n't have known he was nearby - he was residing a good 20 miles away. Bet there was another living closer though ...

mamatomany · 02/08/2010 19:15

Nobody would let their child out the front door if they knew there was a sex offender nearby, i probably wouldn't go out myself, but the chances are there is always a convicted criminal of some crime around every corner, do you not leave the house for fear of mugging, rape, kidnap ? The truth is she regrets letting her daughter go off that day full stop and who could blame her, but she can't turn the clock back.

withorwithoutyou · 02/08/2010 19:37

Such a sad case, and Sarah Payne was so incredibly unlucky.

I can picture a thread on here - is it ok to let me eight year old play out in a field with her older siblings, they will have a mobile phone with them.

Most people on here would say it would be ok. Just awful, awful luck.

ragged · 02/08/2010 20:01

Sarah Payne's abduction was a lightening strike event; you are more likely to be hit by lightening (out of a clear blue sky) in your life than to suffer her terrible fate.

Nobody plans (or should plan) their life based on the risk of being hit by lightening out of a clear blue sky.

ISNT · 02/08/2010 20:32

Very good way of putting it ragged, I will remember that for other conversations where people are getting carried away with their risk assessments.

Heracles · 03/08/2010 01:36

As the OP says, it wouldn't have saved Sarah's life at all. I just don't quite understand the point of the law, I'm afraid. If somone's going to do something like that it'll be done and knowing in advance of his/her past will have done no good. All it will do is whip up vigilantism when a child goes missing.

Any longer "grooming" style threats are far more likely to happen within the family, after all.

Oh I don't know, it's such an emotive subject it nmakes you sound like a cold uncaring git when discomfort about the law is admitted.

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