POLICE have been urged to take a common stance to criminal record disclosures after the NSPCC warned that children may be at risk from harm.

Figures obtained under Freedom of Information requests to police forces show information has only been disclosed in one out of every six applications.

Wiltshire Police has supplied information under the Child Sex Offenders Disclosure scheme, known as Sarah’s Law, from 41 out of 142 applications since its launch in 2011.

It came into force following public outrage over the murder of eight-year-old Sarah Payne by a convicted paedophile in 2000.

And it allows parents and other members of the public to apply to police for details about individuals if they suspect they might harm children.

Despite the variation in disclosures among forces, Wiltshire Police say in many cases there are no concerns over the subject, so a disclosure is not necessary.

Between 2011-2014, 5,357 applications were made to 33 forces but only 877 applications resulted in disclosures being made.

Five forces said they had received 908 applications but did not provide information about disclosure numbers.

Peter Wanless, NSPCC chief executive, said: “We are both disturbed and surprised by this wide discrepancy of figures across the country, revealing that there is a postcode lottery when it comes to how forces deal with Sarah’s Law.

“The police need to be proactive in empowering communities to protect vulnerable children.

“The wide variation in disclosure numbers doesn’t breed confidence that the scheme is being understood or applied consistently and that is a concern.

“While there may be very good reasons for not disclosing information held to applicants, some forces seem to be too cautious which could put children at serious risk of harm.

“We need to see regular independent evaluation of this vital law to make sure it’s working as it should.”

A spokeswoman for Wiltshire Police said: “The aim of this scheme is to provide parents, guardians and carers with information that will enable them to safeguard their children’s safety and welfare.

“Under the scheme, anyone can make an application about a person that has some form of contact with a child.

“But a third party making the application would not necessarily receive disclosure.

“These latest figures from the NSPCC Freedom of Information request show that Wiltshire Police disclosed information in relation to 41 out of 142 applications.

“This may be because many of those people who were the subject of an application simply do not have any convictions or concerns and therefore a disclosure is not made.”