PARENTS will act as the eyes and ears of the community in Swindon thanks to new powers to access information on sex offenders, according to police.

Sarah’s Law, which gives parents the right to check whether anyone who has unsupervised access to their child has a criminal conviction for sex offences, will operate in Wiltshire from August following an announcement by the Home Office.

The pilot scheme, which has been running in four areas since September 2008, will now be introduced to a further 18 police forces.

Although concerns have been raised about potential vigilante behaviour or driving some sex offenders underground, Superintendent Sarah Bodell, the head of the Public Protection department for Wiltshire Police, said she welcomed the measure and concerns over vigilante behaviour on offenders or confidentiality issues, had proved unfounded in the trial.

“It’s reassurance for people who have responsibility for children, but it is also a mechanism of intelligence,” she said.

“We’ll be alerted earlier so we can take action.”

In January, NSPCC figures revealed that 206 known sex offences were committed against young people in Swindon and Wiltshire last year with 33 of the victims aged 10 or younger.

The Public Protection Department involves more than 100 officers who operate in offices in Swindon, Salisbury, Melksham and Devizes and no extra staffing will be required to operate Sarah’s Law.

Supt Bodell said Sarah’s Law would remove some of the frustration parents might feel in trying to get information to and from the police by giving them a process to follow.

Diana Sutton, the NSPCC’s head of public affairs and campaigns, said: “We remain concerned about the risk of vigilante action and sex offenders going underground.

“All new local schemes need close management and proper resourcing to avoid this.”

Greendown School headteacher Clive Zimmerman, the chairman of the Swindon Association Of Secondary Headteachers said: “As a parent myself, I would anticipate that the majority of parents would welcome the idea of being able to ‘check out’ someone linked to their child that they have concerns about.

“From a school perspective it doesn’t really change anything .

“We already have very tight procedures and checks under the safeguarding duties given to us.”