Manitoba sex offender notification panel deals with 111 cases in five years. (Justice).

WINNIPEG -- Manitoba's Community Notification Advisory Committee which advises police agencies whether they should warn the public about the presence of high-risk sex offenders in the community, has dealt with 111 cases which they referred for consideration since 1995. The committee is the first of its kind in Canada.

The referrals have resulted in:

* 25 province-wide full public notifications,

* 25 limited public notifications made to specific geographic areas, and

* 34 targeted notifications to groups at particular risk from an offender.

The committee has recommended that police take other measures in two cases. In 23 cases the panel recommended that no notification be made and two cases were withdrawn before being considered by the committee.

Most had extensive criminal records involving sexual assaults and other violent crimes. The CNAC protocol requires notification of offenders where possible, and allows them to provide written input for consideration by the committee. A total of 16 offenders wrote directly to the committee while 28 had legal counsel or other persons provide a written submission.

The committee, the first of its kind in Canada, is headed by William Morton, Q.C. and includes representatives from the community, the criminal justice system and mental health fields. The offenders were all male and ranged in age from 16 to 73.

The victims of these offenders were most likely to be children and youth under the age of 17. About 75 per cent of offenders were known to their victims before the crime was committed.

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