Politicians don't think "Let's put Sarah Payne in charge of ways to stop children being killed because her daughter was killed so she'll have all the answers" instead of "Let's put someone in charge who is brilliant and will find solutions".

They think "Let's put her in charge because the tabloids will love it and we'll get positive coverage".

Or, to put it another way, they don't give a shit about dead children as long as they keep their jobs.
Unless the reality is - they are incredibly stupid.

They think "Let's make everyone working with children have a check so we get good media coverage" instead of "How can we make the abduction and murder of children less easy?" which is what I want my government to do, please.

And they come up with a plan that's like giving poison to potential poisoners - a £64 licence to collect children and persuade them they are government approved people, as long as there's nothing (yet) in their past - and who - with something in their past - would apply for a licence?

Just unbelievable, incredible, terrifying.

These morons are in charge.

Sorry JK,but calling the government morons is an insult to your average moron.

Obvious this will achieve nothing,except the type of complacency that will endanger children.It will also cause considerable costs and inconvenience to the poorest of parents as many friends will simply refuse to do favors like giving lifts to neighbors,as they won't want to get into trouble.

Yes I can see Qs of Paedophiles for these checks. They will just be "volunteers on a irregular basis" or make "Private" arrangements to help. Both ways mean they dont have to have a check done on them.

Then of course everyone else thinks "everyone" has been checked and they let their guard down a little bit more - after all everyone helping must have been checked these days and approved........then of course the problem will happen.

Thankfully there are very few sickos in our society who attack people they dont know.

We all know that 98% of abuse happens in the home by immediate or close family members as in BABY P. But because these stories are boring for the press they rarely get coverage unless a child dies. It took 10 children to die in Doncaster before the media even noticed how bad the Social Services acted.

In addition the media always puts the BLOND haired and blue eyed little girls on their front pages. SOHAM - MADDIE - JESSE etc etc. if the girl is cute then they are worthy of coverage. The ugly kids never get in the papers at all - they are ignored......weird that and what does that say about the press

I don't often agree with you on here BR, but your last your was spot on, especially your last point about the pretty chiildren making the front pages while many other poor souls are forgotten because they don't look good on the cover of the Express, Mail or Sun.

Shame on the press, so many children's disappearance or abuse goes unreported because, in JK's words, they are not a "Good Story".

Yep, I've truly slagged you off on another thread, BR, but I'll add my voice to David's. Spot on posting this time.

governments like to perpetuate this myth that all crime will vanish one day and they bolster peoples hopes this will happen by peputuating fear and the tabloids happily assist.

I'm just reading a book about a local mass murderer here called the Granny Killer.

Here was a seemingly middle-aged British immigrant with a family and kids, a good job and belonging to community organisations and every few months he would stalk and batter to death a little old lady with a hammer. Apparently they reminded him of his mother.

He was caught after killing 6 in Sydney (he hanged himself in jail 4 years ago) but now they think he killed maybe 8 in Melbourne and possibly 10 or so in Manchester where he came from.

Needless to say..everyone thought he was a pillar of the community.

To be blunt. Shannon Matthews wasn't pretty but she got plenty of media coverage. But I suspect most children who are abducted are so targeted because they are pretty. The ugly kids don't attract people so easily.

JK2006 wrote:
Politicians don't think "Let's put Sarah Payne in charge of ways to stop children being killed because her daughter was killed so she'll have all the answers" instead of "Let's put someone in charge who is brilliant and will find solutions".

They think "Let's put her in charge because the tabloids will love it and we'll get positive coverage".

Or, to put it another way, they don't give a shit about dead children as long as they keep their jobs.
Unless the reality is - they are incredibly stupid.

Nor do they think "Let's put Sarah Payne in charge because if she had been looking after her daughter she would still be alive today.