Sex Offenders

In today's society our children cannot go five yards away from us without anxiety hitting us. Our neighborhoods are being populated by sexual offenders of all sorts, and our play grounds and school are being examined by predators. There is no safe place for our children to go outside of our locked doors. Sex offenders are being released on parole and are given counseling. Who is to say they won't strike again? Seven out of ten sex offenders repeat their crimes and our tax payer's money is not securing our safety or the safety of our children. What should our community do to prevent sex offenders from harming our children?

One resolution may be chemical castration. Chemical castration is when the offender is injected into the muscle with a hormone, known as Depo-Provera, commonly used as a method of birth control for women, once every 1-3 months. The chemical is known to lower sex drive and when used in a more concentrated form, as it is on sexual offenders, it will reduce the urges that drive these men to commit their crimes. This form of castration is totally reversible and does not deprive the recipient of the ability or enjoyment of sexual encounters nor does it deprive them from their right to procreate. Chemical castration is an ideal punishment for sex offenders. The rate of relapse falls to 3%, while non-castrated offenders' relapse rate is 46% ( Matthis, 1995). Their sexual fantasies are reduced as a result of reduction of testosterone levels. Castration in the United States is said to be cruel or unusual. However, the only thing cruel or unusual is allowing these predators to harm young women and children. "This is not punishment. This is rehabilitation. We're trying to help those who can't help themselves," says Republican Tom Emmer ("Castration Under Bill," 2005).

Security may also play a key role in protecting the next generation. Finger printing every adult who steps into a school or child based facility may stop predators from entering our school systems. This is an easy first step to securing our schools. Also, in today's technological age it is not uncommon for a youth to carry a cell phone. Cell phones may be tracked at any given time, as long as the device is powered on. Cell phone tracking capability through E-911 is important for anyone to have. Now we can give this technology to our children which will allow us to find them when 911 is dialed. The only problem with E-911 is the emergency service that is dispatched may not have E-911 tracking capability ("Child's Safety," 2003). However, new technology called Wherify may track our children at any given moment. Wherify is a small watch that can be locked to a child's wrist ("Child's Safety," 2003). This device allows us to track our children on a map or by real-time satellite pictures. When the child is in danger they