THE government has responded to public pressure and announced that a working group has been set up to consider the possibility of introducing “Sarah’s Law”.
The group met for the first time this week and will look at the issue in the wider context of child protection arrangements in the Isle of Man.
This week’s meeting was chaired by Department of Home Affairs member Mr Bill Malarkey. It includes representatives from the campaign for Sarah’s Law, Victim Support, the Island Offender Management Service (Prison and Probation) and the Isle of Man Constabulary.
The matter was debated in Tynwald in July but at the time Home Affairs Minister Adrian Earnshaw said that the introduction of ‘Sarah’s Law’ was not necessary and it was rejected in a vote. ‘Sarah’s Law’ in the Isle of Man would give parents access to information about local sex offenders
However, campaigners - led by organiser Suzette Marshall - were not prepared to accept the response from Tynwald and have used the General Election campaign as an opportunity to raise the issue again.
Today’s response from the Department of Home Affairs comes after all 64 candidates for the House of Keys were asked whether they supported the idea. Suzette Marshall said that 3,000 people had signed up to an online group representing “a huge amount” of House of Keys votes.
Home Affairs Minister Adrian Earnshaw, who is a House of Keys candidate in Onchan, said, “I am fully aware of the public interest in this issue and of the campaign to introduce Sarah’s Law into the Isle of Man. I received a petition at the July Tynwald and have subsequently met with members of the campaign who impressed me with the level of effort and commitment that they have applied to their research.
“When the petition was handed to me, I also made a commitment to meet Sara Payne following Mr Bill Henderson’s offer to bring her to the Island, although regrettably this has not yet materialised.
“Given the level of interest, I did not feel it appropriate for there to be any further delay, and so asked my officers to set up a working group to consider all the relevant issues. It is a Departmental imperative that this review is undertaken and consideration given to any developments which can enhance our children’s safety.
“The Department of Home Affairs is fully signed up to the Children’s Plan which places child safety at the top of our agenda, and has supported the work of the Safeguarding Children Board since its inception.’”
It is intended that the group will report to the Home Affairs Minister by the end of the year with an assessment of current arrangements and any recommendations for improvement.
