By Jon Silverman Home affairs analyst

Who's watching your child?

The idea that the environment in which we live is often a boon to the criminal is not a new one. Since the 1980s, it has been recognised that poor street lighting, footpaths with high-sided fences and concrete stairwells on estates all provide opportunities for the ill-intentioned.

Just as the planners can help "design out" mugging and anti-social behaviour, so thoughts are turning to ways of improving child protection by being smarter in the organisation of some of our public spaces.

Leisurewatch is an initiative pioneered in Northumberland but which is now being taken up in many other areas of the UK, with interest even being shown in the United States.

The aim is to promote awareness of the ways in which paedophiles prey on children, and gain the active support of staff who work in leisure centres, parks, beach entertainment and amusement arcades. When these people are properly trained, they can prevent sexual abuse taking place.

We're not asking people to be copper's narks - just to know what to do if their suspicions are aroused Judy Hughes

It began when staff at an amusement arcade became concerned about the behaviour of a man who seemed to be befriending young boys. Because no crime was being committed on the premises, there was uncertainty about how to respond. It transpired that the man was a convicted sex offender, and that early intervention could have prevented another offence taking place.

Judy Hughes is director of the Derwent Initiative, the charity which has developed Leisurewatch. "We're not asking people to be copper's narks, just to keep their eyes and ears open, and to know what to do if their suspicions are aroused," she says.

Be safe, be seen

In Northumbria, information is passed to the police community beat manager who decides what action should be taken. Having helped train more than 1,200 staff, the Derwent Initiative is now advising on the layout of many leisure complexes which inadvertently put the vulnerable at risk.

Mobile firms have drawn up a code of conduct to keep children safer

"In a lot of the centres built in the 1970s and 80s, you can access the changing rooms without passing through secure turnstiles. A set-up like that is a paedophiles' paradise. We organise regular patrols in which staff routinely say 'good morning' to any adults who might be hanging around, and take an interest in what they are doing," Ms Hughes says.

Some of the layout changes proposed are common sense, such as putting mirrors in dark corners of changing rooms and porthole windows in solid doors. At swimming pools, first aid can be moved from an isolated room to the poolside.

The scheme has already had its successes. A receptionist at a leisure centre noticed that a school bus driver was using his mobile phone to take pictures of pupils having swimming lessons. A check with the police established that the man was a known offender.

"It is a very good example of the community taking constructive steps, rather than indulging in the destructive vigilantism which has marred the whole debate about paedophiles," says Judy Hughes.

Lost in a good book

It is also a welcome sign that the traditional attitude of the police and probation services - that public protection is a matter best left to the professionals - is being broken down, and that community involvement is now actively sought.

Book stacks can be angled so people can't disappear from view

In eight areas of England and Wales, lay advisers have been sitting alongside the other agencies represented on the public protection panels which supervise violent and sex offenders in the community. This will be extended to the whole country during 2004.

And what next for Leisurewatch? Public libraries are now being brought within the scheme. "You would think a child is safe in a library, wouldn't you?" says Judy Hughes.