Face of Nation : The revelation comes as Victoria’s upper house has committed to an inquiry into making the details of convicted sex offenders public. Some Victorian sex offenders get less supervision than others even if they have a higher risk of reoffending, a new report has found. There were 8286 registered sex offenders in Victoria in May 2019, 54 per cent of whom were required to regularly report to police.
Offenders are required to keep police informed of their whereabouts and other personal details, and are barred from working with children in their reporting period. The auditor-general has investigated whether such offenders are being safely integrated into the community, and found Victoria Police has “comprehensive” practices for managing sex offenders based on their risk level.
But the operational model of the force – which is designed to be flexible to cope with competing needs – means the amount of time staff allocate to managing offenders, including checking they are meeting their obligations, varies.
“Some registered sex offenders receive less management irrespective of risk level,” the report found. Victoria Police is also unsure exactly how many people across the organisation are involved in managing such offenders.
The auditor-general wants Victoria Police to determine the money and staffing resources it needs to manage sex offenders, review its training course, and set up a process to monitor the quality of offender management plans. Victoria Police has accepted all nine recommendations.
Stuart Grimley of Derryn Hinch’s Justice Party has also led a successful push for state parliament to examine making details about registered sex offenders public. A motion calling for an inquiry put to the state’s upper house on Wednesday passed with flying colours, with 35 members voting in favour of it and four against.
Mr Grimley said the inquiry isn’t the answer to the issue of sexual abuse, but will be worthwhile if it saves one child from abuse. “Things need to be better. Things need to be changed,” he told parliament.
Victorian Labor supported the motion in principle, but believes the review should wait until a national working group contemplating creating a database completes its work. Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has been trying to rally support for the database among the states and territories.
The opposition backs the motion too, but Reason Party Leader Fiona Patten and Greens Leader Samantha Ratnam argued there is no evidence making the details of sex offenders public reduces reoffending.
