Estonia plans to add offenders’ photos to criminal register

Estonia’s Ministry of Justice wants to add portrait photos to the criminal register entries of people convicted of the most serious sexual offences against children, ERR reports. The ministry says the change would help protect children, but lawyers question how effective photos would be.

More than 11,000 people in Estonia are banned from having direct contact with children, and more than 6,000 of them face a lifelong restriction. Justice Minister Liisa Pakosta said it is currently difficult to tell from the register which offence led to a person being barred from working with children. The ministry therefore plans to add ID photos to the records of those convicted of the most serious offences.

Pakosta said the photos would make it easier to distinguish people who committed the gravest crimes and help verify their identity. The register would not become public: anyone making a search would still need to know the person’s national identification code.

Attorney Liisi Jürgen questioned whether photos would do much to protect children. She said identifying someone from a photo may be difficult for ordinary users, and warned that changes in appearance could lead to a dangerous person being missed or an innocent person being stigmatised.

The Chancellor of Justice’s Office welcomed efforts to prevent sexual offences against children and avert harm to victims. Andres Aru, head of its department for children’s and young people’s rights, said such crimes have severe and long-lasting effects on victims.

The government also plans to automate background checks on people working with children. Employers are currently required to check workers at least once a year; under the proposed system, checks would take place monthly. The Social Insurance Board said the existing system works when employers know they must check a person before hiring them to work with children.

The Data Protection Inspectorate supports updating the register but is assessing whether the changes would safeguard privacy and personal data. The new system is not expected to take effect until 2030 because the state lacks the funding to implement it sooner, Pakosta said.