An anonymous reader writes
"Tony Blair announced today that UK police are to be given new powers to enter and search the homes of convicted sex offenders, with or without "suspicion of a crime".
The powers, which come into effect later this year, allow police to enter a property to look for evidence that a paedophile might be planning an offence.
Officers will search computers as well as looking for evidence of magazines, or the presence of children's toys or clothes.
However, unlike now when they can enter a property only if they have a reasonable belief a crime may be committed, the new power allows searches even where no such evidence exists.
What if they find virus tools on the computer? Does their unlimited search power restrict the scope of their search to children's clothing or photos?
The law essentially gives the police the power to "search whenever we want for whatever reason". Seeing how this is already common practice in the case of those on parole or probation, the new law clearly applies to those offenders who have completed all aspects of their sentence and are "free men" (as it were).
That is likely to raise some civil liberties concerns, but ministers believe the public will support the move.
Is the "pedophile panic" just a convienant tool on which to pass this legislation or is this new law justified to bring further reductions to child abuse?"
