Common sense dictates our scarce police resources should be devoted to those individuals who pose the greatest risk to public safety, yet these are the people Canada’s police and legislators totally ignore.

If Britain’s police can pro-actively check on and search registered sex offenders, why can’t Canada’s police pro-actively check on and search the most dangerous people in our society – violent repeat offenders with Firearm Prohibition Orders registered against them?

In fact, Britain devotes entire teams of police to check on individuals under Sexual Harm Prevention Orders (SHPO). Think of Britain’s SHPO as Canada’s Firearm Prohibition Orders but for sex offenders, with powers of enforcement our FPO system totally lacks.

On September 24 2019, DC Chadwick of Cumbria Constabulary’s Management of Sexual and Violent Offenders Unit (MOSOVO) visited Nathan Brian Parker’s home.

Nathan Parker, a registered sex offender with a penchant for child pornography, was banned from having any internet enabled device without reporting it to police.

As a result of this check by Cumbria police, Parker pleaded guilty to possession of extreme pornography and possession of a prohibited image of a child.

On March 16, 2020, Nathan Parker was sentenced to five years in prison for violating his Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

“This sentence demonstrates that cases of this nature are taken very seriously,” said DC Dan Chadwick, a member of Cumbria Constabulary’s Management of Sexual and Violent Offenders Unit.

“Cumbria Police pro-actively manage sexual offenders in our communities. If offenders choose to breach these orders, they will be prosecuted and brought to justice. This should reassure the public of Cumbria that the Police are actively managing individuals with SHPO’s.”

Under British law, a Sexual Harm Prevention Order places specific obligations on the offender, and it also gives police the power to ensure individuals convicted of offences under the Sexual Offences Act obey those judicial restrictions.

Individuals with a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (Source) registered against them must :

• Notify authorities if they do not have a fixed address;
• Notify authorities of any change of address or name within three (3) days;
• Notify authorities of any place they have resided or stayed for at least seven days, whether for seven consecutive days or for a cumulative period of seven days in any 12-month period;
• Notify the police of information contained in, or in relation to, their passport, bank account, credit card or debit card at each notification;
• Declare their SHPO to any actual or potential employers;
• These notifications must be made in person and police may, at their discretion, take photographs and/or fingerprints each time.

All Sexual Harm Prevention Orders are registered in the Police National Computer (PNC), Britain’s version of our Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC), Canada’s central police database where law enforcement agencies can access a wide range of information.

In Canada, Firearm Prohibition Orders are accessible via CPIC but no police agency is tasked with checking on or searching these violent offenders to ensure they are living up to the terms of those orders.

British police have the right to check on and search individuals with an SHPO at any time to ensure compliance.

Canada should apply this same strategy to dealing with repeat offenders with Firearm Prohibition Orders.

Canada’s Firearm Prohibition Order system is broken

• No police agency in Canada tracks individuals with Firearm Prohibition Orders registered against them.
• There is no legal requirement for police to track individuals with Firearm Prohibition Orders registered against them or routinely check on them to ensure compliance.
• There is no legal requirement for individuals with Firearm Prohibition Orders to notify police when they move to a new residence. Police have no idea where these people are.

People with a history of violent offences are a proven danger to public safety, yet these are the people our government refuses to check on or track.

This is insane.

Contact the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Public Safety

If you, like me, want to see violent criminal offenders tracked, please write to the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Public Safety and demand they introduce legislation to prevent more tragedies like this.

The Honourable David Lametti
Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
284 Wellington Street
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0H8
Email the Minister of Justice

The Honourable Bill Blair
Minister of Public Safety
House of Commons
Ottawa, Canada K1A 0A6
Email the Minister of Public Safety