And what will this accomplish? Absolutely bugger all.

[Grumpmeister]

And whats to stop them getting a different email address after registering their ones to the police? If you are going to set a banning system up then at least use eomthing they would find hard to get around. IP addresses and migration codes for example. This could also form the basis of an online register that ISP's could check against and anyone on that list they could tell to bugger off.

LONDON (Reuters) - Registered child sex offenders will have to provide their email addresses to police in a move to stop them using social networking Web sites, the Home Office announced on Friday.

Police will pass the addresses on to the sites which will then be expected to monitor usage or stop offenders logging on.

Sex offenders will face up to five years in prison if they fail to hand over the details or provide a false email.

The proposal is one of a series of measures announced by Home Secretary Jacqui Smith to make it harder for child sex offenders to meet children online.

Another is the publication of the first UK Social Networking Guidance which provides advice about how to stay safe online.

Developed by representatives from the industry, charities and law enforcement agencies, it can be used by service providers, parents and children.

It will provide links to a range of agencies to allow users to report issues of abuse or seek help.

She also launched a new kitemark for setting a standard for filtering software for home computers.

"I want to see every child living their lives free from fear, whether they are meeting friends in a youth club or in a chat room," Smith said.

"We are working together with police, industry and charities to create a hostile environment for sex offenders on the Internet and are determined to make it as hard for predators to strike online, as in the real world."

Jim Gamble, chief executive of the Child Exploitation Online Protection Agency and The Association of Chief Police Officers' lead on child protection and combating child abuse on the Internet, said: "In the virtual world we offer a one-click-away facility to every young person online.

"One click that will allow them to report virtual attacks of a sexual nature such as grooming to specialist officers backed up by support from organisations such as the NSPCC.

"Through the same click they can similarly access a whole source of signposting to other sources of advice and guidance covering a range of harm.

"This is being offered to every service provider and through them to every young person while they are in the virtual world. We call on them all to act now and adopt it."

[Snoopy]

But surely if you have their email address then the ISP is easy enough to find.

Better to monitor their phone lines to see what computer usage they have and tracking it via that. This would also provide info on various contacts.

No the whole thing smacks of yet another "initiative" dreamed up to keep the masses quiet by pretending that Nulabour have found another answer~ either that or those that govern us really do not know how the internet works.
It is, as usual, utter bollox from Whitehall

[Grumpmeister]

The problem is that I could go off to the local library and register a new email account completely separate to anything I currently have. Plus going down the ISP migration code route also allows the service providers to take an active role as well.

[Darwins Selection]

Presumably you could also do a TG and roam the streets with your stolen laptop looking for unsecure wireless thingies?

[Barman]

I tell you what pisses me off about this – the very existence of a sex offender’s register!

Why is there a sex offender’s register? Why do sex offenders have to be monitored and restricted from interacting with children in this way?

I’ll tell you fucking why – because someone somewhere believes that given half a chance these people will do it all over again! In which case, why the fuck are kiddie fiddlers and rapists let out of prison at all? 

It is completely outrageous that somebody that has perpetrated such a heinous crime and is clearly a danger to children or women should be allowed out to walk the streets with the public ever again.

What we need is not fixed-term prison sentences which are supposed to punish these people for their crimes, then let them free on the streets with ‘supervision’ and restrictions on their liberties. We need sentences to treatment of their disorder, chemical or surgical and they simply shouldn’t be let out until we are certain that they won’t re-offend.

Likewise car thieves, burglars, etc. What is the point of putting them in prison (after their 30,000th warning, ASBO, CSO, etc.) and letting them out without any job to go to? They’ll just go back to their old ways. They should be trained/educated while inside and not let out until they have a job they can go into – government provided if necessary – that will prevent them resorting to nicking other people’s stuff to pay the bills. The understanding would be that if re-convicted they throw the key away…

Likewise druggies… Inside, solitary, cold turkey until cured.