The Home Secretary, Theresa May, has today announced to the House of Commons that the Government will be forced to look at changing the rules regarding sex offenders register due to the failure to overturn a Supreme Court ruling. The ruling found that it was a ‘breach of the offenders human rights to remain on the register for life without the chance to appeal’. The Home Secretary announced that they will be making the minimum required changes which will likely mean that after 15 years on the register, they will have the right to apply to be removed from the list. The police would have the last word as to whether they can come off the register and there will be no right to appeal.
So what does this actually mean for the millions of worried parents and members of the community who will read this and be panic stricken? Well firstly, giving the offenders the opportunity to apply, no matter if the rules for removal make it virtually impossible to be granted, the opportunity is still there. It may turn out to be a bare minimum who succeed in their application, but there will almost certainly be people who succeed. So the question then remains, can sex offenders ever be truly rehabilitated? In my opinion, no. People can be rehabilitated when they are a serial burglar, or have committed fraud, or even if they have killed. When it is in someone’s DNA to be attracted to children or to ‘get off’ on forcing themselves on another person, surely this is something that can not under any circumstances be changed? Its the same as asking a homosexual after 15 years if they have become a heterosexual, or vice-versa. It can’t be done because that person didn’t make a choice to be that way.
The fact is these people, regardless of if they chose to be that way or not, are a danger to those who are vulnerable and they can’t be allowed to mingle around society without the police, and parents, being able to know where they are. Undoubtedly there are people who are out there who have these thoughts and feelings but never take action upon them because they realise that it is wrong. Lets not forget that to be on the list in the first place means these individuals acted upon their impulses and broke the law. Simple as that. They have shown that they can not control these impulses so no amount of time should go by where they are considered safe enough to be allowed to return to normal civilisation.
The Government has stressed though that they will do everything in their power to make any changes to current policy as minimal as possible. They will also take this opportunity to address four loopholes that have been found in the original sex offenders act. This will make sure that more individuals are put on the list in the first place, which is surely a good thing. This is certainly a topic that effects each and every person in the UK, every parent, every brother, every sister, every pensioner, this decision by the Supreme Court could reach everyone of us. Whatever the government decide to do, they know that the majority of people feel the same way about this topic and they will be looking to find a solution that will appease the public’s fears. That, I’m afraid, is something that is looking near impossible.