By Andrew Black BBC Scotland news website Tayside and Central Scotland reporter

A number of significant legal measures to protect young and vulnerable people from abuse have been unveiled in recent years.

However, many voluntary and community organisations are having to devise their own measures to spot offenders.

Official steps have included vetting agency, Disclosure Scotland, which was set up to carry out background checks on job applicants. There are also plans for a list of people disqualified from working with children.

Proposals under the Bichard report following the Soham murders are also expected to bring in an even more detailed regime, including the continuous updating of barred lists and allowing parents, personal employers and organisations access to information in certain circumstances.

The Scouting Association has its own safety procedures

But despite these measures, offenders such as Alan Grant, who had not previously come to the attention of the authorities, could still slip through the net.

Jim Duffy, chief executive of the Scottish Scouting Association, said it was often down to the vigilance of those involved in volunteering to spot a problem.

"It's a three-way relationship of trust," he said. "It involves our parents our leaders and young people."

The association has gone far beyond its requirements and, as well as carrying out disclosure checks, it takes up references and interviews applicants before panels made up of community members.

The organisation also has its own internal records system, constantly reminds leaders of their responsibilities and passes on allegations of abuse to the police.

Mr Duffy said: "The important thing is that we don't just rely on criminal record checks, but we rely on information from local communities and how people come across in interview.

"It's down to vigilance and making sure that if our own volunteers pick up on things that they're not comfortable with, they report them to us."

We have to be aware that there are many people who potentially do pose a risk to children who have no conviction and about whom we really have very little information Michelle Miller Association of Directors of Social Work

Mr Duffy said of the Alan Grant case: "It's always of concern when something like this arises and we regret hugely that somebody should use scouting for these types of activities.

"We have to remember that we have got nearly half a million members across the UK and the vast majority of them experience the fantastic adventure of Scouting in a very safe environment."

Professional groups have also warned voluntary organisations of the limits of the legislation.

Michelle Miller, who speaks on child protection issues for the Association of Directors of Social Work, said children were now a lot safer than they used to be.

But she warned against assuming that people not on the disqualified list were suitable to work with children.

'Safe system'

"Voluntary organisations work extremely hard and are very committed to the protection of children, as we all are," she said.

"There will still be a responsibility on employers and voluntary organisations to do their own recruitment process and make sure that is a safe system."

Ms Miller, a senior manager for children and families at Fife Council, said it was important for employers and the voluntary sector to obtain information from applicants using a variety of methods, such as carrying out exercises at interviews.

She said: "We know that 97% of cases where children have been abused don't end up going to court and of the 3% that do end up in court, only 1% end up with a conviction.