Monday, 14 March 2005

Alexander: Paedophile supervision expensive and flawed

New Zealand’s in a sorry state when the level of grossly expensive supervision of sex offenders is essentially decided on whether or not they promise to be good boys, United Future law and order spokesman Marc Alexander said today.

Citing the case of prison bosses quietly shelving plans to halve convicted sex offender Lloyd McIntosh’s supervision after he boasted he would “manipulate” a sole guard and reoffend, Mr Alexander said the whole mess would be farcical if it were not for the risk to the community and the financial cost.

“We’re talking $350,000 a year to keep two guards on McIntosh - that would be enough to keep him in a maximum security prison for four years if we didn’t have this ridiculous system where we have to release a man who still poses an immense danger to society.

“Everyone knows he is still a massive risk, indeed even McIntosh himself admits it,” Mr Alexander said.

“And yet we basically throw vast sums of money at supervising him, all the while holding our collective breath and hoping that he doesn’t slip them and reoffend. Hoping for the best - that’s how we protect society!”

Mr Alexander, a proponent of voluntary chemical castration for child sex offenders wishing to be released back into the community, said McIntosh would be an ideal candidate for the drug Triptorelin, which has been used successfully in a number of overseas jurisdictions to reduce the sex drive of child sex offenders.

“One jab a month might do an awful lot more to keep women and children safe from McIntosh than two well-meaning and very expensive guards.”

ENDS

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