Criminal checks

A while back, we reported on the efforts of the Ohio legislature to label cars owned by sex offenders by issuing special license plates. Some argued that this was too intrusive. However, taking a look at the world situation, it appears the United States is out in front on this issue, at least with respect to Scotland.

The United States offers a free national sex offender registy, supplemented by many state ones, which can pinpoint offenders on a map and paint a color-coded picture of unease across America. In this country s.o. crimes are unique in terms of the registrations required, the ease with which offenders can be located, and the resulting impact on real-estate values. And in general, the U.S. is fairly open with criminal records. A dedicated investigator will find few legal obstacles. Elsewhere in the world, the situation is different. In both England and Scotland, the general public is not permitted access to the s.o. registry. Access is limited to cases where vigilante action is not a likely result. And in Scotland, this has led to the ruling that single mothers cannot ask police if […]