Many people - in fact almost everyone except the
News of the World - think that this is a
Bad Thing. The recent naming and shaming of paedophiles in this somewhat
downmarket publication has caused a man who resembled one of the people whose picture was published to be targetted and sent threatening letters by
vigilantes, and has also caused several riots. A Sarah's Law has been rushed through the
House of Commons (there is an equivalent in the US, called Megan's Law), but was stopped dead by the
House of Lords.
The debate therefore continues, with neither side yet playing the Civil Rights card. One side is ignoring the civil rights of the children who are attacked, and the other side is ignoring the civil rights of people who have served their sentences to be left alone. It seems that both sides are ignoring the fact that children are many times more likely to be attacked by someone they know than by a stranger. Once again the facts have been left behind in the heat of argument, and everyone has forgotten what the argument started about.