A visor is a surface that protects the eyes, such as shading them from the sun or other bright light or protecting them from objects. Nowadays many visors are transparent, but before strong transparent substances such as polycarbonate were invented, visors were opaque like a mask with small holes to see and breathe through, such as:

• The part of a helmet in a suit of armor that protects the eyes.
• A type of hat consisting only of a visor and a way to fasten it to the head.
• Any such vertical surface on any hat or helmet.
• Any such horizontal surface on any hat or helmet (called a peak in British English).
• A device in an automobile that the driver or front passenger can lower over part of the windshield to block the sun (sun visor).

Some modern devices called visors are similar, for example:

• Visor (ice hockey)

Types of modern transparent visors include:

• The transparent or semi-transparent front part of a motorcycle crash helmet or police riotsquad helmets.
• Safety faceshields for construction-type applications.
• An eyeshield to protect the eyes from sunlight on an American football helmet.
• A shield to protect the eyes from sunlight on a flight helmet.
• Green eyeshades, formerly worn by accountants and others engaged in vision-intensive, detail-oriented occupations.

The word vizard (sometimes visard) is used in Shakespearean English to refer to a visor, a mask, or a disguise (ex. "There, then, that vizard, that superfluous case, that hid the worse and show'd the better face." -- Love's Labors Lost V.ii.387).

References

The VISOR also caused him persistent pain, which could not be treated without interfering with the device. It can be presumed that use of a VISOR is very rare, since no other characters in the franchise have appeared with a similar enhancement, and both high-ranking doctors who served on the ship were unfamiliar with the device.

The device does not reproduce normal human vision, but does allow the character to "see" energy phenomena invisible to the naked human eye, as well as allowing him to view things at infrared and at microscopic levels. This also allowed the character to see human vital signs such as heart rate and temperature, giving him the ability to monitor moods and even detect lies. The character's special visual abilities were responsible, at least in part, for his unusually rapid advancement in rank. Twice in the series, Geordi refused to be granted natural vision, first by Q and later by Doctor Katherine Pulaski. Sometime between 2371 and 2373, before the time of the film Star Trek: First Contact, the VISOR was replaced by prosthetic implants, performing the same functions, and depicted using a combination of cosmetic contact lenses and CGI.

Reality

As of 2006, 16 blind people worldwide have had sight partially restored in a procedure where electrodes implanted in their brains take impulses from a camera to allow patients to see lights and outlines of objects.

LeVar Burton, who played the character of Geordi LaForge, disliked the VISOR prop because it restricted his peripheral vision – albeit less than its prototypes – and the constant pressure of the prop's arms on his temples caused headaches.

See also

• Artificial eye
• Human echolocation

References

External links

In the United Kingdom, the Violent and Sex Offender Register (ViSOR) is a database of records of those required to register with the Police under the Sexual Offences Act 2003, those jailed for more than 12 months for violent offences, and unconvicted people thought to be at risk of offending. The Register can be accessed by the Police and some Probation Service personnel.

Notification Periods for offenders Sentenced under Sexual Offences Act 2003

• Imprisonment for life, imprisonment for public protection or for more than 30 months or admission to hospital under restriction order, or subject to an Order for Lifelong Restriction: Notification Period: Indefinitely
• Imprisonment for more than 6 but less than 30 months: Notification Period: 10 years
• Imprisonment for 6 months or less, or admission to hospital without restriction order: Notification Period: 7 years
• Caution: Notification Period: 2 years
• Conditional discharge or (in Scotland) a probation order: Notification Period: Period of discharge or probation period
• Any other: Notification Period: 5 years
• Finite notification periods are halved if the person is under 18 when convicted or cautioned.

The requirement to register was originally imposed by the Sex Offenders Act 1997. The 1997 Act was amended by the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000 to include the requirement to notify police of any foreign travel arrangements. The 1997 Act was repealed by the Sexual Offences Act 2003 which completely reimplemented the provisions of the 1997 Act.

The ViSOR database holds name and address records, photographs, risk assessment, offenders' modus operandi, and an audit trail. The Police National Computer is linked to ViSOR.

Sex offenders subject to the register must inform the Police within 3 days of becoming subject to the notification requirements, or within 3 days of various changes occurring , including moving home, changing their name, changes of passport details. Offenders must confirm their registration annually . Failure to comply is an offence, subject to a penalty of up to five years imprisonment.

Construction of the ViSOR application began in January 2003, with a first release of functionality to a pilot site November 2003. The system was subsequently rolled out to a further three pilot sites during early to mid 2004. National (UK) rollout began November 2004, and was completed April 2005. For a government IT project this appears to have been considered a relatively quick and successful development and deployment.

ViSOR is now in use across all 42 geographic police forces in the UK. Roll out to the Prison and Probation services of England and Wales was scheduled for 2006/7, but was considerably delayed and is underway but not complete as of mid-2008.

MEPs have shown some support for a European Sex Offender Database . However there are fears it will be many years, if ever, before it comes to fruition and even then it may not be effective. A recent NSPCC report highlighted the failure of EU countries to share criminal records properly and the fact that in their opinion this was leaving children at risk in the UK. .

However, though some individual MEPs position may be favourable, there is a number of European countries (Spain, Germany, Italy and France) that in the past have clearly stated that Sex Offenders' Registration as in the UK is a breach of the European Convention of Human Rights making it very unlikely to be implemented EU wide.

See also

• List 99
• HOLMES
• National Identity Register

External links

• Sex Offenders Act 1997
• WikiCrimeLine Violent and Sex Offenders Register
• Dangerous Persons Database – ViSOR: National Policing Improvement Agency

References