jenna said:
yeah. the only people that think no are peado's!!! there isnt really a down side to knowing.
hmm, I think no and I can definately state I'm not a paedophile thank you, bit of a sweeping statement there! I personally do not think this would work. You just have to look at the fiasco after the News of the World printed the names and addresses of registered child sex offenders to see what is going to happen.
Also how is knowing that Mr Jones at number 23 is a convicted paedophile going to help? Ok you can tell your child not to go out near that house and not to talk to Mr Jones but what about Mr Smith at number 41 who is also a sex offender but has not been caught yet?? Surely it would be better to teach your children stranger danger to all strangers rather then the ones we know. It is also worth remembering that the vast majority of sex crimes against children are carried out by people known to them, either family or friends of the family. Another thing, where do we draw the line, are we talking about all sex offenders, those who are sadistic, those who download child porn, those who have had sex with a 14 year old when they themselves were 17? The money needed for that would be a massive amount.
Third point, if sex offenders know that they are going to be made public and potentially harmed then they will "disappear". This means that the Police, the Probation and other agencies are not able to monitor them and as a result the risk of harm and the risk of re-offending rises dramatically. I personally would prefer it if instead of spending money on Sarah's Law instead the government made available more resources to the Police and to the Probation Service so that paedophiles are able to be monitored more effectively, and also they should be given much tougher sentences to allow the Probation a chance to work with them, and if they do not show signs of changing or accepting responsibility then they don't get released.
Everyone said to me that I would change my mind when I had a baby but I can honestly say hand on heart I don't want to know. Instead Seren will be told not to talk to starngers, that if a secret makes her feel scared or sad then she must tell someone, etc.