About

Garda Watch posts all the latest news on the Irish Gardai. Please email gardawatch@gmail.com to share a story or with details of Garda activity in your area.

Tuesday 28 November 2006

Law to be Tightened on UK Sex Offenders

There's been lots of concern in the media recently, that Ireland is a safe haven for convicted sex offenders from the UK. Michael McDowell has signed a memo of understanding with the UK, which will help enforce the law in this area. Although Gardai do currently share information on sex offenders with their UK counterparts, this is on an informal basis only. The new memo ensures that information will officially be shared between the Gardai and police from both Northern Ireland and the UK.

A new law currently being proposed will allow the Gardai to arrest a sex offender from Britain or across the border if they fail to sign the sex offender's register here. The penalty for not signing the register will be increased to five years imprisonment. If introduced, this law will allow the Gardai to automatically arrest a person for this offence. At present Gardai must get a summons before proceeding with these matters.

No comments: