Sex offenders are no more entitled to privacy than stalkers are to camouflage. We must begin to attack the enemy at both ends of the continuum. If there is one compelling theme in the backgrounds of sex predators, it is early, chronic, intense child abuse. The connection between today's abused child and tomorrow's predator is ignored at our peril. Child protective services are the front line of the war against predators, but still we continue to send the troops out with inadequate training, supervision and support.
Child protection is crime prevention.
We cannot have one without the other. And whenever individuals demonstrate by their conduct that they are sexually dangerous to children, our response must be incarceration for a lengthy period, followed by surveillance upon release. If Megan Kanka's death is to have meaning, so must any political response be meaningful. This is not a parochial issue. It's not about neighborhoods, it's about our future.