UK Paedophile Website Raises Vigilantism Concerns

Taken from the Guardian, 17.11.06
By James Sturcke

Fears of vigilante attacks were voiced today following the online publication of names and photos of five sex offenders wanted by police.

It is thought to be the first time that details of convicted paedophiles have been published nationwide by Britain's law enforcement agencies. The Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) centre has set up the site to appeal for information about child sex offenders who have disappeared.

They are not men wanted over unsolved crimes, but offenders who have already served punishment and then gone missing after failing to comply with legal restrictions on their movements.

Breaching these so-called "notification requirements" - which are conditions of their placement on the sex offenders' register - is an arrestable offence punishable with up to five years in prison.

The five men named on the website are Alexander Colin Dalgleish, Gordon Stewart, Paul Turner (also known as Paul Francis or Geddes), Joshua Karney, who also goes by five other names, and Kamil Krawiec.

Crime and offender resettlement specialists voiced concerns about possible "unintended consequences" of publishing the men's details.

"They will have to ensure that no individual is the victim of vigilante action or other criminal activity," said Enver Solomon, deputy director of the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies at King's College, London.

"There have been cases of mistaken identity in the past and that could happen again. This is, if you like, an unintended consequence of adopting such an approach. I would not want to live in a society where people are unnecessarily targeted as a result of an attempt for greater public protection."

In 2000, a female paediatrician consultant returned to her home in south Wales to find "paedo" spray painted on her front door. Local police believe the graffiti was written by someone who confused her job title with the word "paedophile".

Harry Fletcher, the assistant general secretary of Napo, the probation service union, said he feared some offenders could go deeper into hiding.

"Members of the public must be clearly told to contact the police and not take matters into their own hands, otherwise there is a real danger that offenders could go to ground," he said.

Sally Burnell, of the National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders, said she could "see the benefits" for police of the site. However, she warned that the public could misunderstand its intention, seeing it as a version of the proposed Sarah's law - named after the murdered schoolgirl Sarah Payne - that would give the public access to details of sex offenders living in the community.

"Roy Whiting [the convicted sex offender who later murdered Sarah Payne], for example, would not feature on this list because he was abiding by the conditions of his release and regularly reporting to police," she said.

The organisation's chief executive, Paul Cavadino, said the appeal for information was "no different in principle from an appeal to track down a wanted offender on Crimewatch".

Ray Wyre, an expert in child protection, told Sky News that sex offenders would be deterred from absconding knowing that their details could be published online. Phillip Noyes, the director of public policy at the child protection charity, NSPCC, also supported the initiative.

"The NSPCC believes it is right that convicted child sex offenders who disappear off the radar and flout the sex offenders' register are identified on this website. This could help stop further attacks on children and young people," he said.

"Child sex offenders who go underground pose a very real risk to children. We urge the public: if you know where they are, tell the police. They must be found in case they strike again."

The CEOP centre stressed that the website was not about "naming and shaming" offenders whose whereabouts are already known, but finding those who have gone missing and cannot be traced by the police. The site includes a strong warning against vigilante action, saying it "is never acceptable and is likely to lead to criminal proceedings".

The initiative is running together with the Crimestoppers Most Wanted site, which is designed to help track down Britain's most dangerous on-the-run criminals.

"The success of the Crimestoppers website in gaining the support of the public to help track the UK's most wanted criminals is unprecedented here in the UK," Jim Gamble, chief executive of the CEOP centre, said.

"Now we need to move a lot of that success towards protecting children and safeguarding communities from harm."

The move coincides with the first anniversary of the Crimestoppers Most Wanted site, which has received almost 40m hits and led to 24 arrests since it went live last November. There have been 659 appeals on the site since it was launched.