Paranoid about pedophiles: Nearly a quarter of British adults have been given background checks to determine whether they are pedophiles, according to a report by the independent think tank Civitas. The checks, which search for evidence of past pedophilic tendencies or criminal activity, were mandated in 2002, after a school janitor killed two girls. Since then, the government’s Criminal Records Bureau has carried out 15 million background checks, at a cost of more than $1 billion. The checks, Civitas said, have created “an atmosphere of suspicion” that does little to protect children. Parents, the report notes, are not allowed to accompany their kids on field trips unless they have been vetted.
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