Should paedophiles be named and shamed?
 

Ive been having a bit of a debate with the guys at work about the whole name and shame thing for convicted criminals. We found this: http://www.theratbook.com over the weekend, it looks like somebody has gone to alot of trouble putting it together. I personally believe that naming and shaming criminals in the press is a good thing, because it serves a number of benefits;

• Should discourage criminals from committing the crime - once their name is out they cannot hide
• Means that people (parents in particular) can protect themselves from dangerous people

However - some of the guys at work keep going on about vigilante threats, and people taking the law into their own hands. From what Ive seen, this is almost an urban myth (other than the occasional pediatrician having a brick thrown through their window...although I wonder did that ever even happen??).

What does everybody else think? Is naming and shaming right or wrong?

Well, for peadophiles and other dangerous criminals, I would say absolutely. I can see your friends point on the vigilante threat but, especially when it comes to peadophiles, Innocent childrens safety comes before dangerous criminals in my eyes.

The one thing the UK would benefit from is a public sex offenders registry. America has one. You can simply type in your address and view all the sex offenders in the area. Yet the government here seem to want to protect THEM and not US or our children.

Exactly, it's crazy!! I mean if they don't want to be on the registry don't do the crime......................simple.

Thing is, there is no level of "sex offence". Once you're on that registry, your life is screwed basically. Some people are put on the register for simply pissing in public. And unless there is that information, you're not going to know who is a paedophile and rapist and who went for a piss behind a building on a drunken night out.

Really? How can taking a piss be classed as a sex offence?? lol

Yeah obviously that would have to be sorted out

The beginnings of a police state darlings.... that's what all this named and shamed will eventually lead to.

Because the offender exposed themselves, lol. It's very ****ed up.

Nah, if it's people who are a danger to children they should be named. Most paedophiles re offend so kids need to be protected

You have to eliminate emotion from this and think about it in a different way. The best policy for any state to adapt when trying to control it's citizens is to keep them in a perpetual state of fear or anxiety which makes it far easier for them to introduce drastic changes that curtail our freedom. That's all that this whole paedo thing is ultimately about. You don't think paedo's existed hundreds of years ago? You think it's a modern day phenomenon? They want to misdirect you with this fear mongering so that they can go about and brainwash you into apathy when it concerns radical changes that encroach upon your rights. I'm telling you, they do it all the time.

As it is a sexual proclivity crime, and sex drive is a powerful persuader, I think that if convicted twice they should be castrated. naming them would result in violence.

Of course it happened years ago, I'm not stupid. And fear that my kids aren't safe is my feeling along with every other parent, aunt,uncle etc.

Castration is a better solution, you're right LT

No they should be placed in specialist secure units and only released if they are considered by a large panel of experts to no longer be a danger to children...chemical castration, therapy, lie detectors etc should all be used

But sure every parent throughout time has felt like that. This really doesn't change things in the slightest, except for adding additional fear and anxiety into society.

No, it would be easing a fear from parents.

Didn't the Sun do this years ago and end up putting a number of innocent people in danger?

A fear of what though? I mean, most parents wouldn't be allowing their kids to talk to strangers in the first place. Once the proper precautions are taken and you have a good, healthy relationship with your children, then there's really nothing to be scared of. My worry is where this kind of tagging will end, you know? Police state baby.

Well, in alot of these situations, these people get jobs in schools or around children and become familiar not strangers to children

They're shouldnt be anyone working with or around kids these days, the laws and checks have been tightened a lot since Ian Huntley

That's in Britain though, what about in Ireland? I doubt it.

That's different. Any service which works with children should always get in contact with a governing body to run a check on any new workers.

My concern is if all of this goes public you increase fear and worry in people.... that's when the trouble starts and when the state can really f£ck us over, in terms of new legislation, stricter laws etc, not to even think of what people will do to one another.

Ah I dont know about Ireland, dont you have CRB checks?

I've taught in primary schools and I had to be checked for any record. That's how it works.

I have mixed feelings about it. On one hand, I agree to a certain extent with Setanta. The fact it becomes public will increase paranoia, accusations and tensions between neighbours, colleagues or others. Increasing fear isn't the most appropriate way, it'd rapidly become a huge mess.
On the other hand, it may be seen as a preventive way of keeping the children safe. Paedophiles don't even deserve to live nor having a "normal" life. I still don't understand how our governments (same thing in France and Italy) want to "protect them" to a certain extent.

So I don't know to be honest, it's a very tough situation.