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"Sarah's Law" Likely To Become Reality; Megan's Law - for the UK.
Topic Started: Jun 18 2006, 11:23 PM (376 Views)
JeffLynnesBeard
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah%27s_Law

Any US citizens here should know what Megan's Law is - it's allowing the availablilty of information telling residents the whereabouts of known (convicted) paedophiles and sex offenders. Ever since Sarah Payne was abducted and killed by Roy Whiting, a known paedophile, on July 1st, 2000 whilst playing with her brothers and sisters, the UK media, particularly The News Of The World, have been campaigning to have Megan's Law brought into force in the UK and to call it Sarah's Law. This will mean that the public will have access to the sex offenders' register and will know if they have someone living in their area with such a conviction.

The Home Secretary, Jack Straw, has intimated that this will now probably be happening. Many see this as good news - and I would as well - were it not for the very real fear that people will take the law into their own hands. All well and good, some people may say, paedophiles deserve everything they get - right? Well, no. Despite people's cynicism, we need to have faith in our judicial system and if people have been convicted and punished, then they should be free to live their lives without living in fear of being attacked, no matter what they've done. Shortly after the abduction of Sarah Payne, people attacked the home of a Pediatrician because they couldn't tell the difference between a doctor specialising in the treatment of children and a sex offender who molests children. With such divine intelligence, you can understand my concerns that people may misuse this information.

Also, there have been cases where older teenage boys who have had relationships, i.e. a consensual love affair, with younger teenage girls have been prosecuted, convicted and put on the sex offenders' register. Regardless of whether you think such a relationship is right or appropriate, there's no way that can be compared with the abduction and rape of a child by an adult, and yet people like that would be placed side by side on such a register. True, Sarah's Law could be beneficial... it could even save lives. I know I'd want to be informed if there was a paedophile living down the street from my children, but it could also destroy lives - some lives which do not deserve to be destroyed purely because of a single mistake or misguided love affair whilst in their formative years. I think there are some sections of the public you cannot trust with this information and that's why such a law is potentially dangerous.

I've had my say - now I'm going to throw it open for discussion. What do you all think about this subject?
...and in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.
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bluemeanie
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Andy - I feel it is good and needed here in the UK but because of the vigilante attacks that have gone on (and somtimes on innocent people) I feel it could drive some of them underground where now they are (supposed to be) regulary checked.

Also - yeah it's good to know if anyone is living nearby so you can keep them safe in the area in which you live, but what about visiting other areas/places the beach/theme park etc etc unless they get tattoo'd on the heads thats the only way they can be identified.

Ive heard about Megan's law in the USA but unfortunatley don't know too much about it. Can our american friends please shed some light on how this works ??? I feel then knowing more about how Megan's law is working in the states then I could say more about the proposed Sarah's Law
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theonlyfab4fan
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In theory it is a good thing, in practice though it doesn`t really seem to work all that well. The little Lunsford girl in Florida last year comes to mind. The man that abducted raped and then buried her alive was a convicted registered sex offender and was living in her neighborhood.
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beatlechick
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theonlyfab4fan
Jun 18 2006, 04:33 PM
In theory it is a good thing, in practice though it doesn`t really seem to work all that well. The little Lunsford girl in Florida last year comes to mind. The man that abducted raped and then buried her alive was a convicted registered sex offender and was living in her neighborhood.

True, however all registered sex offenders have their names put onto a national database. A regular person can access that database and find out where they were last reported to live. They are supposed to report to the police where they are currently living but that isn't something that is easily enforceable. However, that being said something good that has come out of Megan's law is the posting of the Amber alerts. Here is the history of the Amber alert from the California Highway Patrol:
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The AMBER ALERT Program originated in Texas in 1996 after 9-year-old Amber Hagerman was abducted and murdered. Texas organized a system that encouraged law enforcement agencies to alert the media following a confirmed child abduction.
Here is the criteria for an Amber Alert:
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Save a child with AMBER ALERT

A parent's worst nightmare is a child abduction. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, 74 percent of children who were abducted and later found murdered were killed within three hours of being taken. Quick response is vital.

What is AMBER ALERT?

AMBER ALERT empowers law enforcement, the media and the public to combat abduction by sending out immediate, up-to-date information that aids in the child's safe recovery.

The AMBER ALERT Program has helped in successfully recovering over one hundred children since it was established statewide in California on July 31, 2002.

AMBER ALERT Guidelines

AMBER ALERT may be activated only by law enforcement agencies.
AMBER ALERT is intended only for the most serious, time-critical child abduction cases.
AMBER ALERT is not intended for cases involving runaways or parental abduction, except in life-threatening situations.
Criteria for activating an AMBER ALERT

Law enforcement agencies ensure these conditions are met before activating an AMBER ALERT:

The investigating law enforcement agency confirms an abduction has occurred.
The victim is 17 years of age or younger, or has a proven mental or physical disability.
The victim is in imminent danger of serious injury or death.
There is information available that, if provided to the public, could assist in the child's safe recovery.
Now what happens here in California, don't know how it is in other states, we have message boards on our freeways to tell about what is happening in traffic ahead of you, the CHP will post the vehicle that was seen being used in the abduction, the age of the child, and the license plate number of that car. The media posts every 15 minutes the same information plus pictures of the child, where the child was taken from, pictures of the abductor, pictures of the car or a similar one but same model and year. I think the capture rate and captured alive has been nearly 100% in my part of the state. I don't think any of the children have been killed. Pretty good odds. The Amber law is separate from Megan's law however it has been piggy-backed due to the subject matter. I highly recommend this law, actually both laws have their value. Megan's law, once captured, is a law that is unshakeable. It is something that will follow the criminal for the rest of their life. There are about 100 known sex offenders, and that isn't just kids as all sex offenders have to register, living in my city. It's if they are living near schools, Churches, and parks that they are really supposed to be watched.
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Jayne, in America you would simply go to a site like www.sexoffender.com and enter the area where you live and it would pull up a list of sex offenders in that area. There are terms and conditions on that particular site which warn against harassment and the possibilty of a change of address but they're not always heeded.

I think residents (especially parents) should know how cautious they need to be. If they are oblivious, they might be too comfortable letting their children wander around alone. However, the mob mentality of some people ruins it for everyone and makes for a tricky situation. These criminals do need a place to live and it's going to have to be somewhere. Anger is understandable but all too often it is taken out the wrong way and on the wrong individuals. I know that where I grew up there were several registered sex offenders (it's inevitable) but I never heard of any problems being made of it so it is possible. I think it's an appropriate law. If only people could be trusted with the information given to them...
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modgirl1964
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JeffLynnesBeard
Jun 18 2006, 11:23 PM
Also, there have been cases where older teenage boys who have had relationships, i.e. a consensual love affair, with younger teenage girls have been prosecuted, convicted and put on the sex offenders' register.  Regardless of whether you think such a relationship is right or appropriate, there's no way that can be compared with the abduction and rape of a child by an adult, and yet people like that would be placed side by side on such a register.  True, Sarah's Law could be beneficial... it could even save lives.  I know I'd want to be informed if there was a paedophile living down the street from my children, but it could also destroy lives - some lives which do not deserve to be destroyed purely because of a single mistake or misguided love affair whilst in their formative years.  I think there are some sections of the public you cannot trust with this information and that's why such a law is potentially dangerous.


This is something I pretty well about know now.


My own boyfriend is a register sex offender. No, he did not kidnap and harm a child. He had a drunken evening last summer and slept with a girl who told him she was 18 and then tells him later she was only 15. And because of this, he's now on that list. Just this morning, he has to go register with local barricks of the Detroit police in our nieghorhood to let them know there's a sex offender in the area.

Because of this he has a hard time getting jobs, people can find where he lives when looking on the site, people will judge him forever as "prevert" when all he did was make a stupid mistake (there's much more to the story that is just too unbelievable that I just can't even begin to tell you.)

I'm for listing kidnappers, molsters, and the ones that can really do harm. But the ones who just made mistakes like my boyfriend or those who had intercourse with constent under the age and got caught, those are the ones who should not be listed. What if something happened in the neighborhood to a kid, is my boyfriend going to the blame because of his past? There does need to be a limit of who should really be not that list and who should not!!
Bridget

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maccascruff
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There is a small town in Iowa, and I don't remember which one, that passed a law that made it illegal for any registered sex offender to live there. I don't have a lot of pity for most of these people, but they do need some place to live.
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McGoo
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The only law we need is one that bangs up peadophiles and the like for LIFE. Thus removing the need for registers and the fear of vigilante attacks.

For the record, I can't see how putting peadophiles, who behave in a predatory fashion, on a list is going to stop them from carrying out there sick "urges."



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I'm sure that being monitered and scrutinized helps in that sense.
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mozart8mytoe
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I do not know about this law in the UK, but I support Megan's Law wholeheartedly. The Amber Alert system is brilliant. I cannot understand why no one thought of it earlier.

Megan’s Law does not give civilians the right to attack or abuse the people on this list. It is a tool to help parents. From what I can tell, parents need all the help they can get. It is also phenomenally helpful to law enforcement agencies. The days of asking the neighbors if that guy down the street who always watches children is really a wacko or just acts the part are over. We need technology to fight today’s criminals.

If the locals attack a pediatrician because they thought he was a sex offender, they are guilty of a crime and should be prosecuted. Even if they attacked an actual offender, they should be prosecuted. It would be unwise to void the law just because there are some people too stupid to understand it. Better education would be nice, but that would cost money. My tax dollars are busily killing people in foreign countries. Mob mentality can be a dangerous thing, but we cannot write laws that only cater to this psychology.

As for teenagers who knock boots with their underage girlfriends, this is a lower classification than those sick f*cks who kidnap and rape little children before dumping their bodies in garbage bags. When law enforcement agencies investigate kidnappings and murders, they look at the highest risk offenders first, and those whose modus operandi fit the crime. Talking to some guy who took a leak in a public park is their lowest priority. Many of these websites that list addresses and names will not even list the lowest risk offenders.

I am all for rehabilitation. If the guy who robbed the liquor store on the corner served his time and wants to lead a productive life, I say leave him alone. But raping a 6 year old is not a simple indiscretion. You have to be pretty f*cked up to even think about wanting to consider doing something like that.

What I do not understand is why sex offenders and arsonists have to register with their local police departments, but murderers do not. I can kill the clerk at 7-11, get out of jail in 20 years, and go on with my life (assuming I am not on parole). But if I set my high school on fire I have to tell the police where I live for the rest of my life.
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beatlechick
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maccascruff
Jun 19 2006, 02:13 PM
There is a small town in Iowa, and I don't remember which one, that passed a law that made it illegal for any registered sex offender to live there. I don't have a lot of pity for most of these people, but they do need some place to live.

You're right they do need a place to live, I vote for Crawford, Texas
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beatlechick
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tonyhemp
Jun 23 2006, 05:33 AM
maccascruff
Jun 19 2006, 02:13 PM
There is a small town in Iowa, and I don't remember which one, that passed a law that made it illegal for any registered sex offender to live there.  I don't have a lot of pity for most of these people, but they do need some place to live.

You're right they do need a place to live, I vote for Crawford, Texas

yeah, around some ranch there. I'm sure the tenants there won't mind since they loved screwing everyone.
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JeffLynnesBeard
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Thank you all for your replies - after careful consideration, I believe that the positives of such a law would outweigh the negatives but would still call for people to be charged with the full weight of the law if they took the law into their own hands as a result of information gained by the publishing of names, photos, locations etc. of sex offenders. For those who haven't committed henious sexual crimes, I hope they are left off the register or, at least, full disclosure of the crime is given so that people are able to distinguish between someone who had a girlfriend a couple of years younger than him and a predatory paedophile.
...and in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.
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JeffLynnesBeard
Jun 25 2006, 09:15 AM
Thank you all for your replies - after careful consideration, I believe that the positives of such a law would outweigh the negatives but would still call for people to be charged with the full weight of the law if they took the law into their own hands as a result of information gained by the publishing of names, photos, locations etc. of sex offenders. For those who haven't committed henious sexual crimes, I hope they are left off the register or, at least, full disclosure of the crime is given so that people are able to distinguish between someone who had a girlfriend a couple of years younger than him and a predatory paedophile.

Andy I am against the death penalty but if anyone should be put to death it is these sick pedophiles. The judges and prosecutors who let them out are the ones who should get life.
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mozart8mytoe
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Judges and prosecutors are bound by the limits of the law. A prosecutor cannot charge someone with murder if they jaywalked. A judge cannot sentence someone to life in prison if the maximum penalty is 5 years.

If you do not like the law - and I agree completely that someone who rapes a child should serve far more than 5 years - try to change the law, not the people doing their best to enforce the law.
Nurse, I spy gypsies. Run.
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