Not In My Neighbourhood: Overview : SBS Insight

Overview

How does the criminal justice system deal with pedophiles?

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While most crimes of child sex abuse never make it near the criminal justice system, how does the system work for the offenders that do get reported?

Most child sex offence cases get heard in the local court where the maximum sentence is two years.

Are sentences too low?

When child sex offenders do get to prison, what treatments are there available to help stop them re-offending? And what is the likelihood of the re-offending when released?

And should communities be given the right to know if a pedophile is living in their neighbourhood?

Insight will also look at the Serious Sex Offender legislation that allows some states to detain offenders after their sentence is served. Should some sex offenders never be released or be forced to undergo chemical castration and constant electronic tagging?

Join us with judges, public defenders, criminologists, victims and an offender.

Meet the Guests

Andrew Haesler SC

Andrew Haesler SC is a Barrister and a Deputy Senior Public Defender for NSW. He has represented sex offenders and child sex offenders in some of NSWs most high profile cases.

Rhonda Booby

Rhonda Booby is the Executive Director of Offending Services and Programs at the NSW Dept of Corrective Services. She oversees the rehabilitation programs for child sex offenders in prisons as well as the monitoring and tracking of sex offenders once they are released into the community.

The Hon James Wood AO QC

The Hon James Wood AO QC is a former Justice of the NSW Supreme Court. He is Chairman of the NSW Sentencing Council and Chairman on NSW Law Reform Commission. He was the Royal Commissioner of the New South Police Service 1994-1997, and most recently headed up a Royal Commission into Child Protection in NSW.

The Hon Murray Kellam AO

The Hon Murray Kellam AO recently retired as a Judge on the Supreme Court of Victoria. He is also the former Chairman of the Victorian Adult Parole Board. He is a now an Adjunct Professor with Monash University's Department of Law.

Stephen Smallbone

Stephen Smallbone is a criminologist at Queensland's Griffith University. He has a special interest in adult and juvenile child sex offenders.