You can run but not hide

You can run but not hide

Child sex fugitives named on UK website By Philip Johnston, Home Affairs Editor Last Updated: 2:23am GMT 17/11/2006 An unprecedented hunt for some of Britain's most wanted child sex offenders will be launched today when a specialist law enforcement agency set up to track paedophiles names five missing men on its website. The CEOP website names wanted paedophiles Jim Gamble, the head of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre, said: "They will have nowhere to hide." He said members of the public who recognised the men should tell police first, adding that "vigilantism" would be dealt with severely. Fear that people would take the law into their own hands was the principal reason why the Home Office refused to introduce a public notification system — the Sarah's Law demanded by campaigners. The law is named after Sarah Payne, who was murdered six years ago, and modelled on Megan's Law, a system that operates in America. It was established in the mid-1990s after Megan Kanka was killed by a paedophile who had moved close by without anyone knowing. The Home Office and the police have long opposed the introduction of such a law, but over the summer, John Reid, the Home Secretary, signalled that he might bring one in. Supporters praised the apparent about-turn, but their hopes were dashed when the Government said it was instigating a "review" only. advertisementApart from sending Gerry Sutcliffe, a Home Office minister, to America to look at the operation of Megan's Law, nothing has happened and there was no mention of the proposal in Wednesday's Queen's Speech. Even the suggestion of a policy change led to criticism that Mr Reid was pandering to the mob. Opponents, including police chiefs, fear a repeat of the vigilantism that occurred around the time of Sarah's murder by the paedophile Roy Whiting. Some people, wrongly suspected of being sex offenders were attacked, and in one case even a paediatrician was targeted. The CEOP Centre will identify the men on its site www.ceop.gov.uk/wanted. Even though they have served prison terms for their crimes, their failure to tell police where they are is punishable by up to five years in prison. Mr Gamble said: "It is not about publishing details of all sex offenders as this could drive a large number of compliant offenders away from effective management programmes. "What we want to do is maximise every available opportunity to locate those offenders who are missing to protect children, young people and communities." He added: "The public must report sightings so the police can take appropriate action. Vigilante activity will be robustly dealt with and is likely to result in arrest." The police already run a "most wanted" list on their Crimestoppers website which has received almost 40 million hits and led to 24 arrests since it went live a year ago. It lists Britain's 10 most wanted criminals and carries appeals for information on others who are on the run. Mr Gamble said: "Now we need to move a lot of that success towards protecting children. If you are a convicted offender and think you can escape your notification requirements, or think you can move out of your region and go missing, then think again. Your details may now be posted on this site. Your picture will be there so that people can report you and we can locate you. "In our eyes, you forgo your right to anonymity when you fail to fulfil the terms of your conviction." All individuals whose identities are to be published are on the sex offenders register and are required to tell police when they move house. Although details of their crimes are not being disclosed, their photographs — published with the consent of the police — and their last known location will be. The CEOP Centre, in London, is affiliated to the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), a national crime-fighting organisation headed by a former MI5 chief which was dubbed Britain's FBI when it was set up last year. It is also involved in tracking internet sites used by paedophiles through a new Anglo-American system called the Virtual Global Taskforce (VGT). Its aim is to establish a visible police presence on the internet to deter offenders and reassure the public in a similar way to officers patrolling the streets. Young people can report the activities of suspected internet predators on VGT's website, allowing investigators to trace a suspect's location through his internet connection and contact a local police force to make an arrest. Mr Gamble called it a multinational online police station. "We need to ignore territorial boundaries because the internet doesn't have territorial boundaries," he said.