Tougher police powers to crack down on child sex offenders

South Australia Police now have the toughest search powers in the country to combat child sex offenders, under new laws which have recently come into effect.

The law reforms expand the powers of police to enter and search the premises of all registrable child sex offenders to ensure they are complying with their requirements as registrable offenders.

Until now, police were only able to exercise this search power in respect to ‘serious registrable offenders’, or use other search powers available if they had reasonable cause to suspect an offence had been committed or there was evidence of an offence.

Under the previous rules, police could also only search electronic devices in the offender’s residential premises, meaning they couldn’t search a mobile device used out of the offender’s home. These changes will mean police can now use their search powers on all registrable offenders in any location.

By extending these powers to all registrable offenders, South Australia Police will be able to ensure all registered child sex offenders are not communicating with children or viewing child exploitation material.

These reforms are the latest in a series of measures from this Labor Government to crack down on child sex offenders.

This includes increasing penalties, slashing sentencing discounts and banning child sex offenders from working alongside underage employees.

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Attributable to Kyam Maher

When a registrable offender is designated as a ‘serious’ offender, this relates solely to the level of offending - it does not consider the potential for an offender to either re-offend or escalate the intensity of their offending.

By expanding SAPOL’s search powers to all registrable offenders and allowing them to conduct their searches of registrable offenders at any location, these law changes will allow SAPOL to have tougher powers to crack down on child sex offenders and protect children.

Allowing South Australia Police to have the power to enter and search the premises of all registrable offenders will ensure they have the ability to keep tabs on them and minimise the risk of reoffending.

Attributable to SAPOL Acting Commissioner of Police Linda Williams

Although checks on all registered child sex offenders are routine for police, the expansion of these powers will allow us to search more electronic devices to better ensure the safety of children, no matter the location.

The public should be reassured that SAPOL will take every opportunity to police child sex offenders and ensure they comply with their legal obligations.