Post by Linalin on Jun 4, 2005 23:02:27 GMT -5
The National Police Agency starts a new system Wednesday to keep track of convicted child molesters after their release from prison, in hopes it will help reduce sex crimes against children.
Although it is uncertain how effective the system will be, in part because of its narrow focus, experts and citizens are calling for added steps.
"I feel secure with the introduction of the new system because (police) can make use of information" about convicted sex offenders, said Chiaki Suzuki, mother of a 9-year-old boy and 6-year-old girl in Ota Ward, Tokyo.
"But I think we need more measures to protect children other than tracking specific people," she said while participating last week in a night patrol organized by a neighborhood group, Peace & Safety Ikegami.
Although the United States and many European countries already keep track of sex offenders, Japan has long placed priority on protecting ex-convicts' rights, according to experts.
The recent government policy change stemmed from the public outcry following the November kidnap-murder of a 7-year-old Nara girl.
The man charged in her slaying, Kaoru Kobayashi, 36, has a record of sex offenses targeting children, including a 1989 conviction for molesting small girls and a prison stint for the attempted murder of a young girl in 1991.
Hidemichi Morosawa, a professor of criminology at Tokiwa University in Ibaraki Prefecture, believes the tracking system will be effective in deterring recidivism.
The new system is expected to help the NPA specifically keep track of sex offenders who have been convicted of at least one of four types of crimes targeting people under age 13 -- molestation, rape, robbery combined with rape, and abduction for sexual purposes.
The system will also include those convicted of other offenses who are deemed to present a child-sex crime threat. Suspects, regardless of age, who have not been convicted will not be covered.
The Justice Ministry will provide the NPA with the addresses of convicted sex offenders after their release from prison, and the NPA will register them on its watch list of potential repeat offenders.
Based on the information, police will regularly check whether the individuals actually reside at the addresses.
"Because (the ex-convicts) will know police are watching them, I think they will try not to cause problems and will live forward-looking lives," Morosawa said.
But the new system has also met with skepticism.
"I think the system will work to catch ex-convicts who commit the same crimes again. But it would be difficult to prevent sex crimes from happening as long as police do not watch the offenders around the clock," said lawyer Yukiko Tsunoda, who has represented victims of sexual violence in numerous civil cases. "Some people repeat the same crimes regardless of the heightened risk of being caught."
The new system will allow police to warn or instruct those on the watch list if they see signs, such as stalking or luring of children, that indicate offenders may commit further sex crimes.
If police lose track of someone on the list, the NPA will coordinate with the nationwide police network to learn the ex-offenders whereabouts. Ex-convicts, however, are not required to report new addresses to authorities.
Persistent tracking could meanwhile infringe on ex-convicts' privacy.
Lawyer Tsunoda pointed to the possibility that information on sex offenders could be leaked to their neighbors, posing a further, social, punishment for those who completed prison terms and hinder their efforts to be rehabilitated.
To alleviate such concerns, the new system obliges police to keep information about those on the list confidential. Thus, unlike in the U.S. and other countries, neighborhoods in Japan will not be informed of the presence of possible sexual predators in their midst.
If, after a period of at least five years of scrutiny, police judge that an ex-convict on the list will not engage in further sex crimes, that person will be removed from the watch list.
Tsunoda believes the sex crimes on record are just the tip of the iceberg, however, and urges society to ponder what causes people to become sex offenders.
"There are more victims of sex offenders" who have never been caught, she said. "We've got to find ways to change society in order to not create more sex offenders, instead of just trying to prevent ex-convicts from repeating crimes."
According to the NPA, of the 466 people accused in 2004 of the four specific sex crimes targeting people under 13 years old, 15.9 percent had previously been convicted of the same crimes.
The figure is not high compared with recidivism rates for other crimes. According to the NPA, the corresponding figure for perpetrators of injurious assault stood at 20.6 percent, and the rate for racketeering was 20.1 percent.
The NPA has claimed the tracking system is necessary because sex crimes cause tremendous physical and psychological damage to children and fear in communities.
Because of the new system's perceived shortcomings, neighborhoods may need to make efforts to enhance their security.
Ikuko Shitara, mother of a 9-year-old boy and a member of the Ikegami residents' patrol team, said she wants schools and police to gather and quickly distribute detailed information about incidents involving children, including sightings of apparent perverts and strangers who approach children.
"I also think parents need to become more active in keeping an eye on not only our own kids but also other people's children to make our communities safe," she said.
The Japan Times: June 1, 2005
I think it's wonderful that somethings finally being done. I'm not so sure how effective this measure will be though.
Although it is uncertain how effective the system will be, in part because of its narrow focus, experts and citizens are calling for added steps.
"I feel secure with the introduction of the new system because (police) can make use of information" about convicted sex offenders, said Chiaki Suzuki, mother of a 9-year-old boy and 6-year-old girl in Ota Ward, Tokyo.
"But I think we need more measures to protect children other than tracking specific people," she said while participating last week in a night patrol organized by a neighborhood group, Peace & Safety Ikegami.
Although the United States and many European countries already keep track of sex offenders, Japan has long placed priority on protecting ex-convicts' rights, according to experts.
The recent government policy change stemmed from the public outcry following the November kidnap-murder of a 7-year-old Nara girl.
The man charged in her slaying, Kaoru Kobayashi, 36, has a record of sex offenses targeting children, including a 1989 conviction for molesting small girls and a prison stint for the attempted murder of a young girl in 1991.
Hidemichi Morosawa, a professor of criminology at Tokiwa University in Ibaraki Prefecture, believes the tracking system will be effective in deterring recidivism.
The new system is expected to help the NPA specifically keep track of sex offenders who have been convicted of at least one of four types of crimes targeting people under age 13 -- molestation, rape, robbery combined with rape, and abduction for sexual purposes.
The system will also include those convicted of other offenses who are deemed to present a child-sex crime threat. Suspects, regardless of age, who have not been convicted will not be covered.
The Justice Ministry will provide the NPA with the addresses of convicted sex offenders after their release from prison, and the NPA will register them on its watch list of potential repeat offenders.
Based on the information, police will regularly check whether the individuals actually reside at the addresses.
"Because (the ex-convicts) will know police are watching them, I think they will try not to cause problems and will live forward-looking lives," Morosawa said.
But the new system has also met with skepticism.
"I think the system will work to catch ex-convicts who commit the same crimes again. But it would be difficult to prevent sex crimes from happening as long as police do not watch the offenders around the clock," said lawyer Yukiko Tsunoda, who has represented victims of sexual violence in numerous civil cases. "Some people repeat the same crimes regardless of the heightened risk of being caught."
The new system will allow police to warn or instruct those on the watch list if they see signs, such as stalking or luring of children, that indicate offenders may commit further sex crimes.
If police lose track of someone on the list, the NPA will coordinate with the nationwide police network to learn the ex-offenders whereabouts. Ex-convicts, however, are not required to report new addresses to authorities.
Persistent tracking could meanwhile infringe on ex-convicts' privacy.
Lawyer Tsunoda pointed to the possibility that information on sex offenders could be leaked to their neighbors, posing a further, social, punishment for those who completed prison terms and hinder their efforts to be rehabilitated.
To alleviate such concerns, the new system obliges police to keep information about those on the list confidential. Thus, unlike in the U.S. and other countries, neighborhoods in Japan will not be informed of the presence of possible sexual predators in their midst.
If, after a period of at least five years of scrutiny, police judge that an ex-convict on the list will not engage in further sex crimes, that person will be removed from the watch list.
Tsunoda believes the sex crimes on record are just the tip of the iceberg, however, and urges society to ponder what causes people to become sex offenders.
"There are more victims of sex offenders" who have never been caught, she said. "We've got to find ways to change society in order to not create more sex offenders, instead of just trying to prevent ex-convicts from repeating crimes."
According to the NPA, of the 466 people accused in 2004 of the four specific sex crimes targeting people under 13 years old, 15.9 percent had previously been convicted of the same crimes.
The figure is not high compared with recidivism rates for other crimes. According to the NPA, the corresponding figure for perpetrators of injurious assault stood at 20.6 percent, and the rate for racketeering was 20.1 percent.
The NPA has claimed the tracking system is necessary because sex crimes cause tremendous physical and psychological damage to children and fear in communities.
Because of the new system's perceived shortcomings, neighborhoods may need to make efforts to enhance their security.
Ikuko Shitara, mother of a 9-year-old boy and a member of the Ikegami residents' patrol team, said she wants schools and police to gather and quickly distribute detailed information about incidents involving children, including sightings of apparent perverts and strangers who approach children.
"I also think parents need to become more active in keeping an eye on not only our own kids but also other people's children to make our communities safe," she said.
The Japan Times: June 1, 2005
I think it's wonderful that somethings finally being done. I'm not so sure how effective this measure will be though.
