More action sought against child-abusers

More action sought against child-abusers

A national network of multi-agency teams is needed to hunt down child-abusers, the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.

Government plans to clamp down on child abuse did not go far enough, said the NSPCC, which published a guide for parents and carers on abuse and called on ministers to fund a pilot of its proposed network.

It also called for the criminal justice system to be more child-friendly and said that vetting was needed to stop paedophiles using the Internet for their activities.

The Government has announced plans for a register of convicted sex offenders, a new offence in effect prohibiting paedophiles from seeking work with children and proposals to give employers' access to job applicants' criminal records. Glenda Cooper