Calls for predator checks fix

Calls for predator checks fix
ABOUT 13 people a week who apply for jobs working with children are considered a risk by state authorities but only about 5 per cent are rejected.
Welfare groups also fear child sex offenders avoid detection altogether by taking up volunteer positions.
The community body Child and Adolescent Sexual Assault Counsellors said the system made it too easy for predators to avoid detection.
Spokeswoman Catharina Webb said: ''We know that the sexual abuse of a child is a planned activity. These people seek the opportunity to have access to children, either in paid or volunteer positions. Signing a declaration doesn't mean much because these people will lie.''
Child sex offenders should be given harder penalties, and be publicly registered and known. Anyone working with children should be checked prior to their volunteering.
Sex offenders should have harder sentences. We should be protecting our children, and we are not doing a very good job,