Keeping children safe
The Warwickshire County Council cabinet member responsible for keeping children safe in the county welcomes the inclusion of 12 new police forces onto the Child Sex Offender Disclosure Scheme.
Councillor Heather Timms is pleased to see the scheme – which allows anyone to raise a concern about someone who has significant contact with a child - continue its national rollout with 24 authorities now on board.
Warwickshire, along with Cambridgeshire, Cleveland and Hampshire, was involved in the 2009 pilot phase. It proved very successful in the four areas with reports revealing that over 60 children have been protected, and peace of mind has been offered to nearly 600 people who made enquiries.
Cllr Timms, portfolio holder for children, young people and families, is keen to raise awareness of the scheme amongst parents who may want to use it to protect their children. She said: “I’m extremely pleased to see more forces offering this scheme which completes its national rollout in April 2011.
“In Warwickshire we work closely with Warwickshire Police, as well as the Local Safeguarding Children Board, the probation service, and local and national child protection charities delivering and supporting this initiative which helps safeguard children.
“People in Warwickshire should be reassured that they can use the simple process to investigate concerns they may have about anyone who spends a significant amount of time with their children. Members of the public can use Warwickshire Police’s dedicated helpline, send an email or visit one of the county police stations to discuss their concerns in a confidential manner.”
Detective Chief Inspector Nigel Jones added: “Before the scheme started, we already disclosed information to parents, carers and guardians of children who were at risk in Warwickshire but this scheme makes such procedures more visible and more accessible and we welcome the national roll out.
“The Sex Offender Disclosure Scheme sets out a clear process for people to raise a concern about individuals, enables the public to make decisions to request information instead of the agencies making the decision to disclose. This helps even more people to play a role in keeping children safe in Warwickshire."
Although anyone can raise a concern, where it is considered necessary and appropriate to release information about an individual, such information will only be made to the child’s parent, carer or guardian directly.
This ensures that information is given to the person best placed to use it to protect the child from harm. Anyone given personal information is required to give an undertaking that they will not share it with anyone else without permission.
Applicants can call the helpline on 01926 415899, email keepingchildrensafe@warwickshire.police.uk or attend their local police station front desk where details of their enquiry will be taken.
The scheme builds on existing processes to proactively manage Registered Sexual Offenders under the Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA).