New Powers Sought to Monitor Sex Offenders |TODAY|

Submitted by dan. on 2007-05-23 22:57.
Crime Prevention | Law Enforcement | Offender Support | Victim Support

Victim support groups, politicians and parents last night said radical new measures were needed to protect the public after it emerged that the convicted sex offender Peter Tobin was on the run for almost a year before he killed Polish student Angelika Kluk.

"People think that sex offenders are carefully monitored but they're not. Tobin was a sex offender who should never have been allowed to reoffend."

Bill Aitken MSP, the Tory justice spokesman, said current laws had failed and he called for the naming and shaming of convicted sex offenders who had deliberately evaded police.

Child protection charities are now calling for measures such as satellite tracking to monitor offenders, as the latest figures show that growing numbers of convicted sex offenders are failing to keep police informed of their whereabouts.

In 1997, there were only 11 cases of failing to give information. In 2004 there were 106 and in 2005 that rose to 165... .

But Margaret Ann Cummings, whose son, Mark, was killed by known sex offender Stuart Legatte, said dangerous criminals were continuing to slip through the net.

"The police don't have a clue where they are. They should have the resources to do the job. We have the technology now to track their every move with satellite tagging."

Read it all. High tech responses are appealing, but high touch approaches are available and more effective. Circles of Support and Accountability are an excellent example.