While registry systems are improving to help keep community members aware of their risk from known offenders, much more needs to be done to prevent offenses from happening in the first place. This is a very difficult task, since it involves not only crime prevention but also risk detection and systems cohesion. One way this challenge might be approached is through increased reporting requirements. Too often, alleged abuse in schools or daycare centers goes un-reported and the accused teacher is simply let go from his job. He is then likely to go to another school and be re-hired there, effectively placing a whole new set of students at risk. The Student Protection Act was introduced in the Senate in 2007. If passed, the Act would create mandatory standards for reporting incidents of sexual misconduct, and would develop a nationwide database to house that information. When a school was conducting a...
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