Should Sex Offenders, Tagging And ID Cards
IN the Derry Journal: “Sex offenders ‘should be tagged and forced to show their faces'”
CONVICTED sex offenders should be electronically tagged and have no rights to anonymity, says Strabane SDLP Councillor Eugene McMenamin.
Speaking after a Strabane DPP meeting on Wednesday evening, Colr McMenamin said: “It’s a fact that in America people can go on a website and find out if any registered sex offenders live in their area. It’s called Megan’s Law but, unfortunately, the law was unsuccessful when they tried to get it passed in the UK.”
Under Megan’s Law, commonly included information includes the sex offender’s name, picture, address and the nature of the crime. The information is often displayed on websites and can be published in newspapers.
Mr. McMenamin believes that giving sex offenders any degree of anonymity is “totally wrong”.
He said: “It is totally wrong that these people can be given anonymity if they have been convicted. In a lot of cases, nobody knows who these people are until they have attacked someone. We only catch a glimpse of their faces if a photographer manages to sneak a photo as they are going in or out of court. There is no way they should ever be located near young families, schools or children”
But the police know who they are. So what good everyone knowing? What is the aim of jail – rehabilitation or punishment?
Mr. McMenamin says: “Look at the situation in Dewsbury with that missing girl. It was mentioned at the DPP meeting, the danger of people driving round trying to pick up children and it can be dismissed all too easily. It has been reported in Strabane and Derry recently.
“That’s why I’m all for tagging. We should know where these characters are 24/7.People mention ‘human rights’ when arguing against tagging, but what human rights does a victim who is being molested or raped have? None whatsoever,” he concluded.
But are all depraved sex attackers on a register? Do they all have a criminal record? Have they all been caught? Should we all be tagged..?
Posted: 1st, March 2008 | In: Politicians Comments (2) | TrackBack | Permalink
