The Government this week announced four pilot schemes which will allow members of the public to ask for details on individuals if they think a child is at risk. Although this is not a Sarah's Law (ignore what the News of the World says!) and there are restrictions and safeguards, there are still concerns that the risks of information aboout sex offenders 'escaping' widely are greater than the benefits. I remain unconvinced that the measures to protect an offenders own children or any previous victims are weak and that there is no effective sanction to prevent individuals given any information they recieve to anyone else including journalists! Lets hope that these really are pilots and that the evaluation will be robust and vigorous.