EDMONTON, AB (July 17, 2015): Today, Wildrose Shadow Justice Minister Scott Cyr called for reforms after a convicted Edmonton sex offender wandered the streets without an electronic monitoring bracelet and broke his release conditions just seven days after release.
The offender was allowed to remove his electronic bracelet despite several warnings from Edmonton police saying they were, “extremely concerned about his behaviour towards young kids.”
“This case clearly demonstrates that there was a breakdown in our justice system,” Cyr said. “There’s no way this individual should be in society without proper monitoring, and it has left many Albertans vulnerable.”
Wildrose policy is to expand the use of electronic monitoring of pedophiles and other dangerous offenders while mandating stricter enforcement for conditions of release. Electronic monitoring creates an electronic fence around pre-selected areas such as playgrounds, schools or swimming pools, and alerts police when an individual wearing a monitoring device crosses the threshold.
“Keeping Albertans safe from dangerous pedophiles like this on our streets should be the number one priority of government,” Cyr said. “An incident like this cannot happen again and I am hopeful that this case will be reviewed, and we can strengthen our justice system to actually put the safety of Albertans above the comforts of sex offenders.”