In Australia, the radio talkback host Derryn Hinch has campaigned for a national public register of sex offenders to be created by the end of 2014. His “Protect our Children” petition has more than 153,000 signatures and states: “A public register is a right and a national duty that is long overdue.”
This sentiment is not shared by Hales or Howlett. Publicly naming child sex offenders can mean they go to ground. “When that happens, the risk increases,” Hales says. The vast majority of crimes against children are committed not by convicted paedophiles but by family members. Hales believes you have to reach out to a sex offender to be able to police them. Next month, she will travel to the UK and Canada on a three-month Churchill Fellowship, studying how they manage the registered offenders living in their communities. What are the risk factors, such as homelessness, unemployment and social isolation that can lead a sex offender to reoffend?
As controversial as it may seem at first, the answers might involve providing government services such as housing and employment for these offenders, to help prevent more crimes taking place. “People may see it as supporting them, but it’s helping them to be members of society who don’t offend,” Hales says. The police “can’t be there 24/7 but we can put things in place”.
