Cache Creek and Ashcroft councils spoke in support of an initiative by the city of Greenwood, BC which urged the federal government “to make the necessary changes to the Criminal Code of Canada making the sexual offender registry public.”
Cache Creek Mayor John Ranta said that it has happened at least twice now in recent memory that cities have been advised of dangerous sexual offenders in their midst, but nothing has been said when the same offender moves to either Cache Creek or Ashcroft.
He referred to the recent case of repeat offender David Jennings, 48, who lived in Ashcroft for months before moving to Kamloops a few weeks ago.
“This is really is something I’d support,” he said, “that the registry be available for public viewing.”
The fact that cities are advised and towns are not “calls into question the value of our children in rural areas,” said Ranta, “that they don’t have the same protection that children in cities have.
Ashcroft Mayor Andy Anderson said he would ask the local RCMP detachment to keep them informed as to who might be in the community.
Coun. Jerry Fiddick, a retired RCMP, said the detachment wouldn’t necessarily know, depending on many factors, including whether the person re-registered whenever they moved.