Sarah Champion MP Times article, 'A review into sex offenders changing their names must bring about real change'

[R0wantrees]

(extract)
"I was stunned when last year I learnt about a gaping hole in safeguarding which means that registered sex offenders are changing their names without the knowledge of the police. This allows abusers to secure a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check under their new name, which won’t flag their criminal past, and enables them to work with children or vulnerable people.

You’d be right in thinking; “Surely that’s not legal?”

Registered sex offenders are legally required to notify the police within three days if they change their name or address, or they face up to five years in prison. The problem is, this leaves the onus on the sex offender to report any changes in their information. How could the police know if an offender had changed their name and not told them? As the law stands, this loophole allows offenders to literally disappear.

By questioning ministers, I found that more than 16,000 sex offenders had breached their notification requirements in the past five years.

I am hugely grateful to Safeguarding Alliance, who first brought this issue to my attention. They uncovered that more than 900 registered sex offenders went missing between 2017 and 2020, and that was with only 16 of the 43 forces responding to their Freedom of Information requests, indicating this is the tip of the iceberg." (continues)
www.thetimes.co.uk/article/af26ad76-e4b6-11eb-a821-58982b1c936d?shareToken=d6a2ac79b2570e069cbd82633e9de831

Thanks R0
Excellent comments!
I'm always shocked that the whole system depends on convicted criminals telling a truth that disadvantages them

I'm always shocked that the whole system depends on convicted criminals telling a truth that disadvantages them

Yes I'll never understand this logic. If you were genuinely concerned about preventing fraud and general safeguarding of women and children, then such a shoddy system should never be allowed to stay in place.

August 1st 2018 article on convicted paedophile's release from prison with new identity features comment by Claude Knights, Safeguarding expert (former head of Kidscape charity):

clicky link to article: www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/3006679/paedophile-jailed-transgender-christyl-knight-christopher-nobile/

(Extracts)
'The con is desperate for a fresh start but child protection expert Claude Knights said: “Allowing these individuals to hide a secret past is a dangerous practice.”

"[Margaret-Ann Cummings, a campaigner whose son was murdered by a convicted sex-offender] added: “It’s not unusual for sex offenders to want a new identity but this is the most disturbing case I’ve heard of.

“When someone, so soon after getting out of jail, is trying to change not just their name but their sex and appearance too, it sounds like they’re trying to hide rather than reform.”

Echoing her calls, child protection expert Claude Knights said: “Anyone who’s fuelled the vile trade in indecent images of children and therefore contributed to their sexual abuse should not be allowed to change their name.”

Claude Knight retired after 15 years as head of Kidscape: www.kidscape.org.uk/news/2016/may/ceo-claude-knights-announces-her-retirement

Finally, Sarah Champion has started joining the dots (she blocked me on twitter years ago when I pointed this out).

Sarah Champion MP writes,

"We cannot have a system which is dependant on sex offenders to self-report changes in their personal information to the police in order to monitor them. We cannot have a system which doesn’t even consider past criminality when someone changes their name. We cannot have a system which puts children at risk of experiencing sexual abuse by an individual who has already been convicted of the same crime."

Relevant recent thread identifying further loopholes (from page 2 onwards):
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/4208155-The-Times-Law-section-Thursday-1st-April-Trans-judge-wants-a-more-diverse-judiciary?pg=2

@Gibbonsgibbonsgibbons

Thanks R0 Excellent comments! I'm always shocked that the whole system depends on convicted criminals telling a truth that disadvantages them

I've seen similar comments to Sarah Champion on Twitter. I hope she's watching & listening - otherwise that's one massive loophole that makes it all more or less pointless.

@PearPickingPorky

Finally, Sarah Champion has started joining the dots (she blocked me on twitter years ago when I pointed this out).

Mumsnet is so often the canary in the coal mine, if only they would listen.

Brilliant article with palpable shock factor but it could have been done sooner but it's done now. Off to read the comments...

And R0...I've missed you.

This was one of the reasons I became interested in the wholeGRC debate. I knew my abusers precious names as he’s told me and had things in previous names. It became important when my solicitor asked for a police database trawl. A string of earlier minor convictions then popped up