Sarah's Law
The campaign for Sarah's Law was spearheaded by the News of the World newspaper, which began in July 2000 in response to the murder of Sarah Payne. Sarah Payne's parents backed up the campaign as they were sure that a child sex offender had been responsible for their daughter's death. Their belief was proved correct 17 months later when Roy Whiting was found guilty of killing Sarah Payne, and it was revealed that he already had a conviction for abducting and indecently assaulting an eight-year-old girl.
The aim of the campaign was for the government to allow controlled access to the Sex Offenders Register, so parents with young children could know if a child sex-offender was living in their area. Sarah Payne's mother has always insisted that such a law would have saved her daughter's life.
The scheme was introduced in four pilot areas of England and Wales in September 2008. In August 2010 the Home Office announced that after proving successful, Sarah's Law would be extended to cover the whole of England and Wales by spring 2011.
Read more about this topic: Murder Of Sarah Payne
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