Pressure on Guernsey politicians to introduce a public sex offenders register
ITV Channel reporter Matthew Leach has been speaking to those calling for a public sex offenders register.Broadcast Thursday 21 November
Pressure has been put on Guernsey politicians to introduce a public sex offenders register on the island. A letter has been sent to all deputies arguing that a fully public register would help protect the community.This would take it beyond legislation in both Jersey and the UK, where parents, carers and teachers can formally ask the police if they have suspicions about someone.
Mandy, whose name we have changed to protect her identity, was raped when she was a teenager and is one of those calling for the register.She says: "I see them and I walk the other way because I don’t want to walk past them. Even if it happened thirty years ago they should be on a register and it should be public. We need to know who they are."
The lack of Guernsey's public register has led to some taking matters into their own hands.
Jane, whose name has also been changed, was assaulted when she was a child.
She says: "Places where he has worked, where I don’t think he should be working. I approached his boss and explained the situation… I don’t think he was in that job much longer."
Sarah's Law, in memory of murdered school girl Sarah Payne, already allows parents, carers and guardians to find out about suspected child sex abusers in the UK and Jersey.
What these victims in Guernsey are calling for is a fully public register - for anyone convicted of any sexual offence.
Victim survivors we spoke to say it would provide peace of mind, it would avoid social media lists, populated by rumour and it would be a powerful deterrent.
However, there are concerns it would increase vigilantism and essentially cut people out of society or push criminal problems to other jurisdictions.
A fully public register is very rare, and while Guernsey does not have Sarah's Law, if a risk has been identified, the police will sometimes give information to third parties.
ITV Channel News has approached Home Affairs for comment but we have not received a response.
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