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Police in UK Launch Web site of Wanted Pedophiles

Photographs and details of five child sex offenders were posted on the Internet for the first time 17 November 2006 as part of a British police initiative to track down pedophiles who have disappeared.

All five men have been convicted and served sentences but have gone missing after their release from prison and are in breach of a reqirement to notify the authorities of their current whereabouts. Failure to comply is an arrestable offence and carries a maximum five years jail term.

The website - http://www.ceop.gov.uk/wanted - which was an initiative by the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (Ceop) Centre, includes photographs, physical descriptions and additional information. However, it does not give details of the men’s convictions.

Unlike the United States, British authorities do not alert the public about the convicted child sex offenders living in the community, although a government review into disclosure of information on offenders is under way. The Ceop, which said the website is not about “naming and shaming” pedophiles, is running the initiative with an American-style police website on the country’s “most wanted” criminals.

The Crimestoppers site has had nearly 40 million hits and led to 24 arrests since it was launched November 2005.

Adapted from: "Police launched website of wanted pedophiles." Bangkok Post. 18 November 2006.