UNITED KINGDOM
The Times
Fiona Hamilton, Crime Editor
March 3 2017
The Times
Police officers have been unable to use a new law to catch paedophiles because of lengthy government delays, it has emerged.
The Ministry of Justice is facing questions about why it has failed for two years to implement measures intended to prevent child grooming, even though the number of cases has more than tripled in recent years.
The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children said that the delays were a “disgrace” and called on ministers urgently to enact the law.
Sexual predators can currently only be arrested and charged if they meet a child after grooming them. However, a law was passed in March 2015 that would make it illegal for an adult to send a sexual communication to a child, either over the phone or via the internet.
The law is contained in section 67 of the Serious Crime Act but it is awaiting the “commencement order” that is needed before police forces can start using it. The NSPCC said that in the meantime children are being put at risk and pointed to a sharp rise in the number of abusers meeting children they have groomed.
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