Today's "The West Australian" pg 9 , "... The West Australian revealed that the police district where Sofia Rodriguez-Urrata-Shu was murdered is home to about 200 of WA's estimated 700 convicted child sex predators"

"At the moment all convicted paedophiles released from jail are put on the register for police use only. The public cannot access the register."

Isnt that just absolutely mind boggling? 200 convicted paedophiles in one concentrated area. And it never ceases to amaze me how the laws of this country protect the "rights" of scums at the expense of law abiding citizenry.

I totally agree but i am interested to know how many of the remaining 500 are actually behind bars and how many are living around Perth

The problem I see it is the definition of a sexual offender.

Let's say I go to a party, meet a girl. We like each other, we sleep together. She gave me the impression she was 18 when, oh shit. She was 15. Her parents hit the roof and have me charged. Hey presto, I'm now one of those 700 "sex predators".

So, unless you can remove every guy who was stitched up in a similar situation (and yeah, it happens), those numbers don't do anybody any service.

A good point cabbage.

You need to also remember that the terms 'paeodiphile', 'child sex offender', 'molesterer' and 'rapist' are ALL different crimes that may or may not overlap each other in any one case.

The media are having a field day with the latest canningvale news, to the point where everyone is led to believe that the world is a dark and evil place at the moment. On the same day of this unfortunate case, tens of thousands of innocent young children used public toilets unaccompanied by a responsible adult... and no harm came to them. Unfortunately this particular little girl was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

We are led to believe that these crimes are 'on the increase' when in actual fact they are more likely to be on the decrease over time. This is due to increasing ammendments of laws etc. In the 'old days' people didn't come out and talk about what happened to them as a child, the more recent accessability of social service groups whithin the comunity and encouragement 'to talk' has brought forward many more claims of sexual abuse in recent times... this does not necessarily equate to an 'increase', it just means it has become more socially acceptable to 'speak out'... which leads to law enforcement being able to act more regularly! Therefore, more likely resulting in a growing decrease etc.

It may also pay to note that in most cases of sexual abuse, the perpetrator is a family member or friend... not some undetected predator simply 'biding his time', such is the case of the recent tradgedy.

To act on our emotions, as the media would have us do each time an event takes place with this magnitude is not to function as an educated, 'reasoning' society. Remember, it was also the media who gave out the address of the perpetrator's family home which was consequently severly damaged by enraged members of the community that decided to take the law into their own hands the very next day. The perpetrator wasn't residing there, he was in lock up. Didn't this family that had committed no crime have the right to feel safe just as much as the deceased little girl did to go to the toilet in public? The family of the deceased girl seemed to think so, and made a public plea to stop such further actions toward the perpetrator's family!! Such control of our thoughts the media seems to have eh??

Always pays to remember that the reasoning mass of our brain takes up 2 hemispheres that together, are about the size of a small basketball. The insitinctual part of our brains, that cave-men were believed to have functioned on (fight or flight etc), is the size of an almond. Food for thought.

"..in actual fact they are more likely to be on the decrease over time.."

A fact is defined as a "concept whose truth can be proved". Its not conjecture nor even an educated guess. Where's the evidence to support your "fact"?

"Always pays to remember that the reasoning mass of our brain takes up 2 hemispheres that together, are about the size of a small BASKETBALL"

Gosh..you sure do have a big brain..

No need to get rude mate.

I've worked throughout many areas of the social-service industry, including the prison system and various other counselling roles over the last 10 or so years etc. My tertiary degree also qualifies me to make these statements... of which, are based on the research and statistical records produced by such organisations and taught at a university level from Lecturers much more qualified than I'll ever be.

While I do not have these FACTS on hand, your more than welcome to contact the appropriate tertiary departments or better still, discuss the statistical collection of SAAP services (for example) with the appropriate Project officer at the Department of Community Development.

As far as the basketball analogy, its just an analogy. I'm sure everyone else got the point except you. If someone gets an analogy wrong it pays to remember this does NOT disprove the point of which they are trying to make... it's just a shitty analogy. My humble apologies for not being clearer in your case. I didn't study medicine... that's why I don't try to pretend I'm a doctor.

yay.
thread closed.

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Long live the WRC