PULLED FROM THE CRACKS: Released sexual offenders since 2019 will be placed on register

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — More than two years after the Sexual Offender Register came into force in The Bahamas, a number of sex offenders have been released from the Department of Correctional Services without being placed on the register and having to comply with the report component that the register permits, Minister of National Security Wayne Munroe said yesterday.

The act for the register was passed under the former administration and brought into force on July 27, 2019.

Electronic registration and kiosk machines for biometric reporting of sexual offenders was funded.

“So, having brought the law into place on the 27^th of July, 2019, the previous administration did nothing to notify the public in accordance with the act,” Munroe said during a briefing at the Office of the Prime Minister.

“I will be considering together with the Office of the Attorney General what ability we have to deal with the persons who would have been released from the 27^th of July, 2019, to date, to address that breach of duty by the previous administration.”

Munroe said he hopes to address that issue and others, including a need for additional manpower and embarking on a public education campaign about the register by the end of next week.

Guarded

Munroe said he was surprised that individuals who looked at the Sexual Offender Register, if other registers in other jurisdictions were examined, would question the efficacy of such a list.

“Now, the thinking, I suppose, is that the scheme of our provision is the minister of national security is supposed to notify or determine how to notify the public on the release of a sexual offender, and so that notification can be generally to everybody or to specific persons and you remain on the register for 10 years unless you go successfully to a judge to be removed,” he said.

“Now, to be quite plain, I, for the big part of my career, successfully sued the government.

“A part of the justification for my appointment by the prime minister was just that, and it doesn’t take much reflection to understand his thinking.

“As a lawyer, before I present a case in court, I think about everything my opponent will do to defeat me and I move to neutralize them.

“In this job as minister of national security, I will consider everything somebody can do to derail any efforts we take and we will definitely guard against it.”

According to the minister, an aggressive campaign will be launched to educate the public about the provisions of the register and what protections it offers.

But he said parental responsibility will not be abrogated by the register and the government wishes for no one to let their guard down.

He also advised that if the public hounds an offender on the register and it is notified and proven, this could be a good cause for a judge to remove people from the register.

He continued: “As a people, we have to be more vigilant about what we are doing. We have to be more considered because people will seek to vindicate rights, so we will seek to educate the public on exactly what the provisions of the register permits, how safe you should feel because somebody is on the register that you know about and you may find that the launching of the register gives no comfort for you to let down your guard.”