By . Jack Doyle . PUBLISHED: . 19:54 EST, 22 December 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 05:45 EST, 23 December 2013 . Sarah's Law: The rule was brought in after the murder of Sarah Payne, pictured, who went missing when she was eight years old . Around five families a week are being told by police about a paedophile who has contact with their children. More than 700 child sex attackers have been unmasked using Sarah’s Law – which was brought in after the murder of eight-year-old Sarah Payne by Roy Whiting. The rule allows concerned parents or grandparents to contact police to find out if a new boyfriend, or a neighbour, who has contact with a child, has a history of child sex offending. Since the law came into force in April 2011, police in England, Scotland and Wales have received some 4,754 applications from anxious parents and grandparents. Of those, a total of 708 - around one in seven - resulted in disclosures. Applications have fallen since the scheme was launched, from 1,944 in 2011/2012 to 1,106 so far this year. Disclosures have also declined from 281 in the first year to 122 in the year to April 2013. Donald Findlater, director of research and development at Lucy Faithfull Foundation, a charity which works with sexual abusers as well as victims, said: ‘While the number of applications being made is small, at 4,754 over two and half years, the conversion rate of one in seven applications resulting in a disclosure is encouraging. ‘It shows that adults can and do notice worrying behaviour in others around them - a key factor in keeping children safe. ‘Our concern here would be the other six out of seven people who made an application but did not get a disclosure. ‘The police know of only a proportion of offenders - many have not been caught and are not on any police database. 'For members of the public to make an application to police they must have had some concerns in the first place.’ Since the scheme began, Avon and . Somerset Police have revealed the highest number of paedophiles at 42, . followed by Devon and Cornwall with 39, Thames Valley with 36 and . Norfolk with 33. A total of 49 identities have been released in . Scotland. It was . introduced after a campaign by Sarah Payne’s mother, Sara. Her . daughter’s body was found in a field near Pulborough, West Sussex in . July 2000. Campaign: Sarah Payne's mother, called Sara, fought hard to have the new law introduced . The scheme is a watered-down version of similar laws in the US under which details of where convicted paedophiles live are actively publicised. Last year, doubts on the future effectiveness of the scheme were raised after a High Court ruling said sex offenders’ human rights to privacy should be considered when dealing with applications. In a judgement that lawyers said risked ‘watering down’ the law, the court ruled in October 2012 that offenders should be given a say before their presence is disclosed. Jon Brown, NSPCC lead for tackling sexual abuse, said: ‘Sarah’s Law is not a silver bullet to end child abuse and giving the public information about where sex offenders live is just one part of the jigsaw. ‘It’s vital sex offenders serve long prison sentences, and like parents, we of course believe prison is the best place for those who harm children. ‘But all prisoners are released eventually so sex offenders must be thoroughly risk assessed and given therapy so they understand what they have done is wrong before they are released. And then they must be monitored closely by the authorities for a long time.’
Rule allows parents to check backgrounds of men with access to children .
It is named after Sarah Payne, an eight-year-old who was murdered .
4,754 applications have been made under the law .
Of these around one in seven was granted .
By . Jack Doyle . PUBLISHED: . 19:54 EST, 22 December 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 05:45 EST, 23 December 2013 . Sarah's Law: The rule was brought in after the murder of Sarah Payne, pictured, who went missing when she was eight years old . Around five families a week are being told by police about a paedophile who has contact with their children. More than 700 child sex attackers have been unmasked using Sarah’s Law – which was brought in after the murder of eight-year-old Sarah Payne by Roy Whiting. The rule allows concerned parents or grandparents to contact police to find out if a new boyfriend, or a neighbour, who has contact with a child, has a history of child sex offending. Since the law came into force in April 2011, police in England, Scotland and Wales have received some 4,754 applications from anxious parents and grandparents. Of those, a total of 708 - around one in seven - resulted in disclosures. Applications have fallen since the scheme was launched, from 1,944 in 2011/2012 to 1,106 so far this year. Disclosures have also declined from 281 in the first year to 122 in the year to April 2013. Donald Findlater, director of research and development at Lucy Faithfull Foundation, a charity which works with sexual abusers as well as victims, said: ‘While the number of applications being made is small, at 4,754 over two and half years, the conversion rate of one in seven applications resulting in a disclosure is encouraging. ‘It shows that adults can and do notice worrying behaviour in others around them - a key factor in keeping children safe. ‘Our concern here would be the other six out of seven people who made an application but did not get a disclosure. ‘The police know of only a proportion of offenders - many have not been caught and are not on any police database. 'For members of the public to make an application to police they must have had some concerns in the first place.’ Since the scheme began, Avon and . Somerset Police have revealed the highest number of paedophiles at 42, . followed by Devon and Cornwall with 39, Thames Valley with 36 and . Norfolk with 33. A total of 49 identities have been released in . Scotland. It was . introduced after a campaign by Sarah Payne’s mother, Sara. Her . daughter’s body was found in a field near Pulborough, West Sussex in . July 2000. Campaign: Sarah Payne's mother, called Sara, fought hard to have the new law introduced . The scheme is a watered-down version of similar laws in the US under which details of where convicted paedophiles live are actively publicised. Last year, doubts on the future effectiveness of the scheme were raised after a High Court ruling said sex offenders’ human rights to privacy should be considered when dealing with applications. In a judgement that lawyers said risked ‘watering down’ the law, the court ruled in October 2012 that offenders should be given a say before their presence is disclosed. Jon Brown, NSPCC lead for tackling sexual abuse, said: ‘Sarah’s Law is not a silver bullet to end child abuse and giving the public information about where sex offenders live is just one part of the jigsaw. ‘It’s vital sex offenders serve long prison sentences, and like parents, we of course believe prison is the best place for those who harm children. ‘But all prisoners are released eventually so sex offenders must be thoroughly risk assessed and given therapy so they understand what they have done is wrong before they are released. And then they must be monitored closely by the authorities for a long time.’
in after the murder of Sarah Payne, pictured, who have been unmasked using Sarah’s Law – which was brought in after the murder of eight-year-old concerned parents or grandparents to contact one in seven - resulted in disclosures. applications being made is small, at 4,754 over