Let’s have a single hi-tech database to track all convicted sex offenders

IT WOULD be reassuring, wouldn’t it, to be certain that convicted sex offenders were being monitored.

There are some parts of the world, especially the United States, where it is possible to track the whereabouts of an offender over the internet. That may not be a great idea, but it is essential, isn’t it, that if a convicted sex offender is living in Ireland, the gardaí know where he is.

Here’s what the gardaí themselves have to say on the matter: “As a result of the introduction of the Sex Offenders Act 2001, certain notification requirements are now imposed on a category of convicted sex offenders. The Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Investigation Unit has a central function in the operation of this legislation.”