Tracking offenders.....

[Little Gorilla]

There is a website in america that you go to and you type in your address, and it shows you a map with the locations of all the registered sex offenders in your area. it colour codes them by the level of severity of their crime.

What do people think about this type of thing here.....I'm assuming we don't have this type of thing in oz yet? Am I correct?

[Grizabella]

I don't think there is such a thing in Australia. But I think there should be. I believe we should be allowed to know if there is a predator living near your house or near your children's school. I don't think personal ID such as their name and address should be disclosed - just a warning of there being a danger in the area. This information should be made available to those wanting to protect their children against such monsters!

[Little Gorilla]

I don't think there is such a thing in Australia. But I think there should be. I believe we should be allowed to know if there is a predator living near your house or near your children's school. I don't think personal ID such as their name and address should be disclosed - just a warning of there being a danger in the area. This information should be made available to those wanting to protect their children against such monsters!

Yes, i agree brions_mum - the warning would be good enough for me - I think disclosing their personal details could lead to all sorts of problems.

[Mamaduke]

Something like this (where the public was given the address of a sex offender) would just get average people into trouble - tell me if you found out one was living next door to you that your usually law abiding husband/partner would not want to go over for a 'chat'...and end up in trouble himself.

[Grizabella]

Personal ID could lead to all sorts of problems I agree - I wouldn't want to hear of an innocent person being the victim of a hate crime due to outdated or incorrect information being posted.

[Mister Noodle]

And even the not-so-innocent.

I don't agree with Meagan's law. If you're going to let people out of jail, then ffs let them get on with their lives. If you hold them up to be hounded from town to town, getting lynched wherever they go... how the hell are they supposed to go straight?

I can see very little good and a whole lot of bad coming from this.

[Grizabella]

Fair comment Mr Noodle. Hoewever it is the offenders who are released and NOT going straight that is the worry. I am against witch-hunts and lynching, but also against liars and manipulators who would take advantage of the lack of control to pursue their obsessions.

Which in my mind brings up the debate of chemical castration...if there were to be no public warning of paedophiles (with or without personal info provided) should offenders be chemically rendered unable to indulge in their antisocial behaviours ???

On one hand I can see the benefits of such a practise...but again, there are drawbacks. Such as the question of where to draw the line? How to decide who is more dangerous, as paedophiles who have committed so-called misdemeanours often progress to more violent crimes. Then there are those who are committed to rehabilitation - is it fair to take their manhood away, when they are trying to start a new life? How can you tell if they are truly committed to rehab?? So many shades of grey.....

[SammieSnail]

But how would knowing where they were be of any benefit??
Aren't sex offenders resticted from living near or frequenting school zones?
And would you seriously treat the safety of your children any differently....I mean wouldn't you always watch them while playing in the park, on the street etc....and like you said Brion's Mum, where do you draw the line? At sex offenders? Those who had only abused children? Or those who had abused adults? What about murderers? and those who had commited other serious crimes?

I guess we should just take it as a given that there are dangers all around us and we can't lock ourselves away in a little box to stop bad things happening...IYKWIM

[Little Gorilla]

http://www.registeredoffenderslist.org/

this is the site from america - i think the free search gives you the vicinity that they live in and then you pay for the extras

look, i would like to know if there was one living in the 10 blocks surrounding my place - i don't think you should know what they look like or what their exact address is as like someone said, it could get ordinary people in trouble (what people might think are good intentions leading to a bad outcome)

i just want to know if I have to be extra vigilant - if I'm living in a place that had 5 sex offenders within my suburb...well, I would want to know this - don't think they won't put them in your suburb - they will - also, yeah, they say they won't put them near schools etc, but sorry, I don't believe that.....

there was a post on bub hub some time ago from a mum who worked in the police department - she said that in order for someone to get one of those new ID cards you need to work with kids, they could actually have been a convicted sex offender but if they had not reoffended (&been caught mind you) within the last 10 years (i think this was the time frame), they could be issued a card.

i don't know any figures about convicted sex offenders re-offending, however, I bet the rate is pretty high....

[Little Gorilla]

And even the not-so-innocent.

I don't agree with Meagan's law. If you're going to let people out of jail, then ffs let them get on with their lives. If you hold them up to be hounded from town to town, getting lynched wherever they go... how the hell are they supposed to go straight?

I can see very little good and a whole lot of bad coming from this.

sorry mr noodle, but, as far as I'm concerned, they shouldn't get a chance to "go straight"......once a sex offender, always a sex offender - this may seem harsh.....but this is a topic I feel pretty strongly about

if as a person, you want to sink so low and perform such an inhuman act to sexually abuse a little child...then you should loose some of your human rights along the way