Sarah's Law – Officially called the 'Child Sex Crime Disclosure Scheme'. The programme, designed to protect one or more children, was rolled out in England, Wales and Scotland across all 43 police forces from 4 April 2011. Over the last 9 years since the law came into force, it has undoubtedly saved thousands of children from potential harm, but of the thousands who have been protected, how many innocent lives have been taken if they are in fact innocent? Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The law allows anyone to formally ask local police whether anyone who has contact with children has a history of committing a child sex crime. The police have a legal obligation to reveal whether or not that person is on the sex offender register. Some charities feared that once the law came into force, sex offenders would disappear underground, but there is no evidence this will happen. Sarah's Law came into force in April 2011, since then there has been an increase in returns every year and in the last financial year over 219 returns were made. During the program's first year, more than 200 children were protected from potential harm. In 2013, just over two and a half years after the program launched, 4,754 applications were submitted, with one in seven resulting in a disclosure. This shows that parents/guardians are aware of the concerning behaviors surrounding their children. Teresa May said the Government was doing everything it could to protect all children, but families continued to play a vital role. Even if parents are told there are no concerns after the disclosure is made, the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children warns those affected to remain vigilant as Sarah's Law can only disclose information of those in the sex offender registry or there have been allegations of such crimes that “could create a false sense of security.” Out of 46 police forces (including British Transport Police), 22 returned comparable data with at least 1,140 reports, reiterating that parents are aware of how others deal with their children and that some are aware of the scheme . How the program works is that any member of the public can make a formal request to their local police force, this can be done by calling, going to a local station in person, reporting online or by meeting a police officer on the street. They will then have a face-to-face meeting to ensure that the intentions are authentic; at this stage they will also be provided with information on how to further protect their children. A full risk assessment is then carried out with trained staff who have in-depth knowledge of child abuse. This will also include searches and checks of the Police National Computer (PNC) and the Sexual and Violent Offenders Register (VISOR). These trained staff members will gather intelligence from local forces to fill any information gaps. As a result of the risk assessment, a decision is made whether “of concern” or “no concern”. If a decision is made regarding 'concerns', a multi-agency meeting (MAPPA) is required to decide whether to disclose this information and whether to tell the individual concerned that a complaint has been made against them. If a disclosure is made in confidence to the applicant, they are forced to sign an agreement.