Speaking on BBC Panorama, Mr Starmer said: “I think the time has come to change the law and close a gap that’s been there for a very long time.
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| Rabbi Yisroel Belsky SHLITA |
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| Jimmy Saville |
Keir Starmer believes it is time to “change the law” and said it should be “mandatory” to report allegations.
Speaking on BBC Panorama, Mr Starmer said: “I think the time has come to change the law and close a gap that’s been there for a very long time.
“I think there should be a mandatory reporting provision.
“The problem is if you haven’t got a central provision requiring people to report, then all you can do is fall back on other provisions that aren’t really designed for that purpose and that usually means they run into difficulties.
“What you really need is a clear, direct law that everybody understands.”
Mr Starmer told the programme he has spent a lot of time thinking about how the criminal justice system could improve its response to child sexual abuse.
“I went to Washington to see how the specialist teams there deal with it,” he said.
“They do have a mandatory reporting scheme, a very straightforward, simple scheme and something like that I think could work in this country.”
The Government currently has no plans to change the law - with the Department for Education stating that mandatory reporting is “not the answer”.
A spokesman said: “Guidance is already crystal clear that professionals should refer immediately to social care when they are concerned about a child.
“Other countries have tried mandatory reporting and there is no evidence to show that it is a better system for protecting children.
“In fact there is evidence to show it can make children less safe.”
Panorama: After Savile: No more secrets? is on BBC One tonight at 8.30pm.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/not-reporting-child-sex-abuse-2673723