5 Live Investigates

Investigative journalism with Adrian Goldberg. At least 600 criminals have changed their identity to avoid the sex offenders register. In one case, it allowed a paedophile to travel to Bangkok - a known destination for sex pests. In another case, a child sex offender befriended a woman and her children after changing his name. The identity dodge also hampers the effectiveness of Sarah's Law, a system allows parents and others to check on individuals with access to children. It is relatively easy to change you name: it can cost as little as £13 and takes just a few days. But 5 live Investigates has found that there is no system for checking whether the people who are changing their identity are on the sex offenders register. Once they have changed their name - their new identity fails to show up past criminal convictions. To show how easy it is to change your name, Adrian changes his to James Brokenshire, the home office minister - but he declines to be interviewed. In the second half of the p