Balancing act tips against the innocent
NORTHERN Constabulary this week launched a new initiative in which parents can be told if their suspicions are correct and a person close to their children is a sex offender.
It is a considerable break with the controversial previous policy of a wall of silence being erected by law enforcement agencies on this touchy topic - but whether it goes far enough is open to debate.
The new initiative - which was trialled in Tayside - has a considerable number of restrictions. While it seems chiefly to deal with parents whose kids are in contact with paedophiles, it does not appear to address the fears of neighbours and others in the community who believe they have a right to know if there is a chance of their youngsters being molested.
The restrictions are in place to protect the offenders and prevent vigilante action and is an attempt to strike a delicate balance.
But there have been a number of local cases in the past few months where people have been outraged about the return of sex offenders after sentence. There are also questionmarks over the monitoring of paedophiles released back into society.
The case of serial sex offender Ernest Dorans in the Hilton area of Inverness late last year is a prime example when he was jailed again.
He had a despicable record, stretching back 35 years, of sex offences against children and was found to be grooming a pre-school age girl in Hilton for two years and also three children in East Ross despite police monitoring.
Yet we believe that under the new scheme very few people living in Hilton would still be made aware this pervert was in thier midst.
The bigger question is whether serial offenders like Dorans, who have proved they cannot live in normal society without breaking the rules, should be allowed to be there with more children put at risk.
While the limited Northern Constabulary disclosures are a welcome development, there will be many who still believe the rights of paedophiles are still being given more prominence than those of innocent potential victims and their parents.
