[DanaC]

From the BBC:

A Home Office review of the way child sex offenders are handled in the community has decided against a Megan's Law for the UK, the BBC has learned.
Named after Megan Kanka, seven, who was killed by a convicted sex offender, the US law gives parents access to names and addresses of known paedophiles.

Instead, the Home Office may allow parents to request information about people left unsupervised with children.

But it does not seem to want details of offenders to be made widely available.

A report of the government's year-long child sex offender review, headed by Home Office minister Gerry Sutcliffe, is expected to be published next month at the earliest.

Single parents

The review has effectively decided that a Megan's Law is not appropriate for the UK.

A campaign to launch a 'Sarah's Law' - a UK version of the legislation - was launched after Sarah Payne was murdered by paedophile Roy Whiting in 2000.

At the moment, employers can request a Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) check if a potential employee is going to work with children, while private citizens cannot.

But the review is looking at the case for widening disclosure of details held on the CRB computer.

For example, it is known that some paedophiles target single parents - working their way into the relationship in order to gain access to children.

Lone parents may, in the future, be allowed to request a CRB check.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6540749.stm