Tuesday, 18 May 2010

Sex Offenders and Housing

Never been comfy with the term 'sex offender'. What they do isn't really related to sex, apart from the TYPE of degradation the victim goes through that generally affects their long term dealings with consensual sexual contact and future partners. But the type of 'sex' that normal functioning people experience shouldn't really be part of that same definition...

Anyhoo...

Interesting thing going on here at the moment in regards to 'sex offenders' - I really don't know if it's only paedophiles or if they've included others - that apparently still pose a threat to the community is that understandably no one wants them in their neighbourhood. The problem is, they've served the time the judge gave them for the crime they committed and just like every other convicted criminal they should be given their freedom....if not restricted, and monitored.

These offenders coming out of a local prison here are being given established houses on prison grounds and all will be monitored via CCTV, patrols, and randomly searched. Part of me applauds this and is grateful for it, but the liberal PC lefty in me feels this is a sort of discrimination that reflects negatively on us as a society.

Isn't someone who murdered out of pure rage and is without remorse still just as much of a threat to the welfare of the wider community as some paedophile?. What's stopping him from going to the pub straight from prison, getting shit faced, and then killing someone else?. If he isn't thoroughly tested for anger response shouldn't he be housed away after sentence?. Where should we stop?. What about career criminals?.

Don't get me wrong, these predators of the worst kind will inevitably stayed locked up, but really, we should be aware of how thin the ACTUAL belief in true democracy and peoples belief in civil liberties really are. We believe in it, as long as we don't have to deal with the dark stuff...

4 comments:

  1. Someone, for once, was thinking of the children. But not all paedophiles get locked up: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/children-as-young-as-three-questioned-about-kissing-and-flirting/story-e6frf7jo-1225867935481?
    I guess it's different if it's 'research'

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  2. For sure, I saw that. If someone asked 'my kid' about stuff like that there'd a be a lawsuit.

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  3. I quite agree. Few people convicted of murder remain in prison for life; some may spend as little as ten years inside before being released on parole or on licence (less for manslaughter), but you rarely get people saying “I don’t want a convicted killer living in my neighbourhood! He might do it again!”

    But there’s nothing new about people having double standards (or a lack of imagination).

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