BLITZ ON PERVS; Ahern vows sex offenders crackdown & more power for gardai.Byline: BY AINE AINE Antiinflamatorio No Esteroideo (Spanish: nonsteroidal antiinflammatory) HEGARTY POLITICAL EDITOR SEX offenders face tough new restrictions when released from prison under a clampdown clamp·down n. An imposing of restrictions or controls: "Advertisers and broadcasters would raise howls of protest against any strong clampdown" Wall Street Journal. ordered by the Justice Minister. Convicted rapists and molesters will be given just three days to notify gardai of their whereabouts or if they move address. Under current rules, perverts have seven days grace before they must register with gardai when they are on the move. Justice Minister Dermot Ahern Dermot Christopher Ahern (Irish: Diarmuid Ó Eachthairn, or Diarmuid Ó hEichiarn; born 2 February, 1955) is a senior Irish Fianna Fáil politician who currently serves as the Minister for Foreign Affairs. is also considering a plan to electronically tag high-risk sex offenders for six months after they leave prison. He said: "I am very conscious that victims and the public generally have particular concerns about sex offenders. "We must do all in our power to enhance public safety by ensuring that the considerable resources of the criminal justice agencies are working in a more joined-up and focused manner at all times." Mr Ahern has vowed to implement the recommendations of a report on the management of convicted sex offenders which was published yesterday. It explored the electronic tagging Electronic tagging is a form of non-surreptitious surveillance consisting of an electronic device attached to a person or vehicle, especially certain criminals, allowing their whereabouts to be monitored. used in Europe. The report said a certain minimum number of offenders would have to be tagged to make it "viable from a cost-effectiveness point of view". Figures for 2007 revealed suspects in 18 incidents of rape or sexual assault and 717 assault cases were out on bail when they these crimes were committed. Olive Travers of the National Association for the Treatment of Abusers said "tagging will be good if it works". Fine Gael's Charlie Flanagan claimed the report was a vital step in ensuring the criminal justice system was effective. But he stressed there was already a very low intake in the current sex offender sex offender n. generic term for all persons convicted of crimes involving sex, including rape, molestation, sexual harassment and pornography production or distribution. rehabilitation scheme. He said: "Of the 578 sex offenders released in the last five years, only 42 have completed the programme." Legislation to pave the way for tagging was introduced more than two years ago. Yesterday's report also recommended giving gardai the power to warn families about perverts - but only if they pose an immediate danger. CAPTION(S): REPORT Dermot Ahern |
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