Paedophiles present particular problems to societies seeking to reconcile rights to privacy with the protection of children. Often, there seems an unavoidable conflict as, for example, when the monitoring of a sex offender's movement is at issue. Last year, this sparked debate over whether New Zealand could establish an official register of paedophiles which deftly balanced the rights of the individual and those of the community. Now, similar issues have been highlighted by the readiness of the Napier police to arrest children visiting a convicted paedophile.
The police admit they are resorting to "desperate measures." These, they say, have been forced upon them because they are powerless to stop the man enticing boys aged as young as 13 to his home. None of the children has complained about the man and none has gone to his house against his will. He has committed no crime. The police insist, however, that they are not abusing their powers of arrest. They point to a section of the Children, Young Persons and their Families Act which allows them to detain youths found to be in a "detrimental" environment until they are picked up by their parents or guardians. Effectively, they have decreed that protection of the children is more important than the man's - and the children's - right of association.
The police action was preceded by an appeal to parents to keep tabs on the whereabouts of their children. The call appears to have fallen largely on deaf ears. That, of course, is the saddest of indictments. In some instances, it might betray ignorance as much as irresponsibility. That is not a trait shared by those fully aware of the insidious activities of paedophiles.
The Napier case seems to follow a common enough path of children being enticed by cigarettes, alcohol and pornographic videos - the very things, in fact, that are denied them in most homes. If no crime has yet been committed, that is of little comfort. Paedophiles are cunning and well organised. Most commonly, they court children, give them presents and seduce them, but they don't rush. They may identify a boy they want to abuse, then spend several years "grooming" him until he reaches the desired age. Only with maturity will many a victim fully realise what has happened.
The Commissioner for Children has, nonetheless, taken issue with the police approach. The problem, Roger McClay says, is the man, not the children. The convicted paedophile should be put under pressure not to associate with the children.
The police have, in fact, tried without success to deter the man. The most logical way of applying Mr McClay's "pressure" is to copy countries which forbid convicted paedophiles from associating with children. That, however, is a draconian step. Effectively, it denies that paedophiles can be rehabilitated. Even if a 1997 New South Wales royal commission drew attention to the "repetitive and obssessive" nature of paedophiles' offending, it seems too sweeping a brush. Equally swingeing is a policy in some parts of the United States whereby the police alert parents when a convicted paedophile moves into their neighbourhood. That has the potential to cultivate a lynch mentality. To a degree, however, this is what the Napier police have done by warning the residents of suburban Greenmeadows.
If it is, as they concede, a desperate tactic, it is justified in this instance. The publicity has spurred at least one woman to persuade her son not to see the man again and to have counselling. In other cases, however, boys have been found revisiting the man after their parents had been warned. Effectively, those parents have passed the baton of protection to the police.
When such parents collect their children from the police cells, there will be another opportunity to emphasise the dangers of associating with paedophiles. A visit to those cells might even be the wake-up call that leads the most irresponsible of parents to start noticing what their children are doing.
In many instances, the state must protect those who will not protect themselves. Children's innocence, inexperience and willingness to trust without question leave them particularly vulnerable. It is no contest when they are enticed into the devious and fixated world of the paedophile. In such cases, as the police have decided, protection of the children must be paramount.
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.
Latest from New Zealand
Anzac Day: Napier veteran Tom Husband recounts being called up for World War II
'Everything the bomb touched had died and there was hardly anything left standing.'