Report to the People
13th December 2004
Protection
is the Top Priority
The
tragic case of Mark Cummings, the eight-year-old
schoolboy murdered
by a sex offender who lived in the same block of flats, was
outrageous both for the nature of the crime and for the way it was allowed to
happen.
This
wasn’t a one-off attack by a hitherto model citizen.
It wasn’t even an attack by a serial offender who had managed to evade
the authorities for years. No.
His murderer had actually been convicted for sexually assaulting children
in the past and was already on the sex offenders' register.
No
wonder Mark’s family, his community and everyone else who took part in the Voice
for our Children march are so angry.
So
how do we stop this happening again?
New
measures set to be introduced include quicker restrictions on the movements of
sex offenders and controls on the activities of suspect individuals – even if
they have not been convicted of an offence.
But
do we need to go further? The
Cummings family’s MSP, my friend and colleague Paul Martin, has been
campaigning hard on this and warns that current housing allocation
policies are putting communities at risk.
He has therefore tabled a motion in the Parliament calling for a
root-and-branch review of how registered sex offenders are monitored.
Paul
is on the right lines here and I am backing his motion.
Some might complain about offenders’ rights, but how can we put any
consideration above the safety of our children and our communities?
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