Support strong for
controversial high-risk offender web site
By Garnet Lewis
Flanked by the RCMP and police members from Calgary and Medicine Hat, Solicitor General Heather Forsyth unveiled the new high-risk offender web pages on May 29, 2002. The web pages are the first of their kind in Canada.
Alberta
Solicitor General Heather Forsyth answers media questions during the
launch of the high-risk offender web site. |
Calling the
addition to the Alberta Solicitor General web site “one tool in the
tool box” to protect children and other vulnerable Albertans, Forsyth
said the “intent is to provide Albertans with information so they
can take appropriate precautions.”
"We hope... it invokes a conversation among children and family members that they need to be aware of who is around them at all times,” said Inspector Peter Davison of the Calgary Police Service.
While the new web pages have been controversial, public support by organizations such as Mad Mothers Against Pedophiles and Calgary Block Watch is strong. Dozens of Albertans have also called or e-mailed to express their support. Even people from outside Alberta have contacted Alberta Solicitor General to say they believe their own provinces should develop similar web sites.
That feeling is echoed by Medicine Hat Police Chief Norm Boucher, who said, “It should be a national site and hopefully one day that’s what we will see.”
The web pages were launched with information about four high-risk offenders. One more was added just a few days later, following a public notification by the Calgary Police Service.
The high-risk offender information is included in the Crime Prevention section of the Alberta Solicitor General/Alberta Justice web site at www.solgen.gov.ab.ca/hro/default.aspx.
