- Paedophiles are to be electronically tagged in the UK
for the first time in a move that could prompt a revolution in the treatment
and monitoring of sex offenders.
-
- A British company is to hold talks with Ministers in
the next few weeks with a view to launching a Home Office-backed trial
involving between 100 and 500 child sex offenders. It is also talking to
government officials in the United States, Italy and Ireland and is to
tag a number of paedophiles who have volunteered to wear the device.
-
- Sky Guardian will unveil the first electronic device
made specifically to track paedophiles at this month's Labour party conference
and is to test the technology on a volunteer MP this week.
-
- Civil liberty groups expressed deep concerns last night.
'If they have been released, they should be free to live their life in
liberty. This muddies the waters between guilt and innocence,' said Mark
Littlewood, campaigns director of Liberty.
-
- 'This is more likely to make them feel alienated. Once
released they should be made to feel a normal member of the community.'
-
- But the news is likely to be greeted favourably by child
protection campaigners who have long called for the obligatory tagging
of paedophiles.
-
- Labour MP Dan Norris, a former social worker who specialised
in child protection and will volunteer to be fitted with a tag this week,
said: 'I know the danger that paedophiles pose. It can never stop the bad
things that bad people do but it can minimise the risk. This is a potential
revolutionary technology but we need to know whether it works. I intend
to give it a proper test.'
-
- Until now the technology to constantly monitor offenders
has been suspect and paedophile experts have expressed fears that it did
not allow for instant communication with offenders, which they say is crucial
if it is to stop paedophiles reoffending.
-
- Unlike tags now used to enforce curfews for general criminal
offenders, which communicate on localised radio frequencies, the new device
uses global satellite positioning technology. This will allow probation
services and police to pinpoint the wearer anywhere in the UK to within
three metres.
-
- The device is capable of providing a detailed diary at
the end of every day of where the user has been.
-
- The electronic diary can be studied remotely by experts
to build up a profile of the offender which will help them predict whether
the person will offend again.
-
- The new technology, which is attached to a person's ankle,
is adapted from electronic tags fitted to offenders in the United States.
The device has a wireless connection to a special mobile phone carried
by the offender at all times. If the phone, which is linked to a call centre
staffed by trained paedophile experts, is separated from the tag an alarm
is triggered.
-
- 'This level of communication with an offender is absolutely
essential if a mature and effective form of management is to work,' said
Clive Crosby, managing director of Sky Guardian.
-
- 'To be able to have "Talk down" with an offender
because he is in a high-risk area and likely to offend is the single most
effective control measure that be applied,' Crosby added.
-
- Home Secretary David Blunkett has expressed support for
tagging paedophiles in the past and is keen to test the new GPS technology.
Following the murder of Sarah Payne, Blunkett wrote: 'We are interested
in tagging sex offenders released on supervision into the community, not
least to ensure that they stick to the agreed location.'
-
- The tag's appeal to police forces and probation services
is obvious, but Ray Wyre, an expert on sex offenders who is working with
Sky Guardian, said there were advantages for registered paedophiles, as
well.
-
- 'Because it tracks where they go every day it would mean
they would not have to be picked up every time there is an offence committed,'
Wyre said.
-
- 'If you have a major investigation it takes up so much
police time. This would be able to exclude them from the start.'
-
- Wyre said the new technology was far cheaper than the
current tagging devices used to enforce curfews and probation orders which
costs around £500 per offender each month.
-
- 'We've heard the Government wants to pilot a scheme.
This technology is so much more advanced than anything out there at the
moment. Our feeling is to try it for 500 people. It costs around half the
price,' Wyre said.
-
- Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited
2003
-
- http://www.guardian.co.uk/child/story/0,7369,1046634,00.html
|
