Mike Penning joined a House of Commons debate yesterday about the addition of a new clause to the Offender Management Bill which sets up a trial for mandatory polygraph testing for sex offenders on licence in the community.
A polygraph – more commonly known as a lie detector – measures changes in breathing, heart activity and sweating which are known to be related to deception.
Mike Penning welcomed the introduction of the test although has reservations about how it will work in practice.
“…if paedophiles do not believe that they are doing anything wrong, will the polygraph test indicate that they are telling an untruth or lying?” he asked.
Mike told the House that he recently asked the Home Office how many people on the sex offenders register had gone missing.
“The answer was very disturbing, and I know that the Minister was concerned about the reply that he had to give me. It was that the information is not held centrally. If we do not know where all the people on the sex offenders register are, how is the polygraph system going to work?”
He also highlighted police concerns about the ease with which offenders are able to change their name by deed poll – a practice that is becoming more and more common.
“Surely we must be able to pass legislation to prevent paedophiles from changing their names. This is a matter of great concern” he said.
Speaking after the debate Mike added:
“We need to be able to protect our children from paedophiles. It is an absolute must that the police know their identities and whereabouts at all times. I welcome the trial of a pilot scheme to use lie detectors but am worried that it will be ineffective against paedophiles who intrinsically believe that what they do is not wrong.
“I am appalled at the ease with which known paedophiles are able to change their identities and disappear without trace. I will continue to campaign for the government to do more to prevent this.”
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