Child sex abuse is disproportionately severe treatment, not preventing it

Stuff reports:

A law change that requires schools to be routinely warned if sex offenders move in to the neighbourhood would amount to “disproportionately severe treatment” of offenders, Ministry of Justice lawyers say.

National MP Matt Doocey, whose private bill seeks to make the changes, described the advice as “outrageous”, placing the rights of child-sex offenders above principals and parents’ right to know.

He said the suggestions that notifying schools would be disproportionately severe to offenders was similarly outrageous as there were many cases where schools were already notified, and his bill would only make notification routine.

The advice seems ridicolous.

If the bill required posters to be placed around the neighbourhood warning people, then I would agree it would be unfair.

But merely notifying schools that a paedophile has moved in down the road is the least we should do to keep kids safe.