A Pinchbeck business woman has launched a petition to change the law so people convicted of the most serious crimes cannot change their names on leaving prison.
She met a man who presented himself as a professional businessman and attended a networking group under a different name.
He had, in fact, received an eight-year prison sentence, was released on licence after four and remained subject to sex-offender notification requirements indefinitely.
Emma Watson runs Specky & Ginge which specialises in marketing.
Her encounter with a sex offender took place in another area of the country, but she had no idea of his history.
“When I searched the name he was using, nothing appeared. He presented himself as an ordinary business professional and subsequently became my client.
“That networking group had previously been a safe space for me – a place where I could grow my business, support other business owners and build trusted, professional relationships,” said Emma.
“As a single parent, that damage was not merely professional. If affected my confidence in earning the money needed to support myself and my little boy.” she added.
If the individual had not been able to change his name from the one he was convicted under, Emma could have made a fully-informed choice about whether to work with him.
“I stopped networking for five years. I lost a major way of promoting and growing my business. My confidence in selling was severely damaged, and meetings alone with male clients no longer felt safe. The professional environment in which I had previously thrived became something I feared.”
Under current law, registered sex, violent and terrorist offenders must report name changes to the police.
The Crime and Policing Act 2026 strengthened the rules for registered sex offenders by requiring advance notification and allowing police to restrict applications in certain cases.
But reporting a change is not the same as requiring permission, says Emma, and restrictions are not automatically applied to every serious offender.
She wants the government to introduce a mandatory approval process before anyone convicted on murder, manslaughter, rape, child sexual offences, serious domestic abuse, stalking or another serious violent or sexual offence can change or begin using a different name.
“It is about ensuring rehabilitation cannot become reinvention at the expense of victims and public safety,” said Emma.
Her petition, launched earlier this month, is on the website change.org and search: ‘Stop serious offenders changing their names to hide their criminal past.’
