Children's Advocate wants review of Sex Offenders Registry restrictions

 

Children's Advocate Diahann Gordon-Harrison is urging lawmakers to review sections of the Sexual Offences Act in relation to the monitoring of sexual offenders.

 

This followed the recent rape and murder of nine year-old Kelsey Ferrigon.

 

The suspect in the case is a repeat sex offender who was out on bail.

 

There has been a stirring of debate again concerning whether the Sex Offenders Registry, which requires the monitoring of convicted sex offenders upon their release, is having the desired result.

 

Mrs Gordon Harrison, speaking Sunday on Radio Jamaica's weekly news review programme That's a Rap, acknowledged that the publication of the names of sex offenders in the registry has been a contentious issue.

 

But in light of the continued brutal attacks against children and women, Mrs Gordon Harrison is of the opinion that there should be a re-examination of the statutory provision, passed in 2012.

 

She acknowledged her long-held position that "those who need to access the Registry have very clear pathways through which to do it," such as prospective employers and schoolboards seeking to vet a job applicant's record, while blocking broad community access as a way to avoid the possibility of vigilante action against persons who are on the registry.

 

"But, I wonder now if we need to be inviting debate and comment, and just different perspectives, including what the statistics have shown us, to reopen the debate," she said.

 

She is suggesting that the authorities establish a mechanism to alert communities about the presence of sex offenders in their midst, with provisions being made for recognised community leaders are granted access to the registry, in a bid to protect the community from predators living in their midst.

 

She acknowledged that the mechanism used to do this would have to be stringent, in order to avoid "jungle justice" being meted out against the person identified. 

 

"I don't know how we would do that, whether it would be through the citizens association or some other measured responsible authority," she said.

 

Despite the challenges to be overcome in arriving at a satisfactory formula, she stressed that the current arrangements "really need a second look, because we have to be very proactive in how we provide systems of care and also a framework that ensures that the preservation of the innocence of children and... trying to minimise the violence perpetrated against them can be really taken in hand in a serious way."