The recent shocking abduction of a three-year-old from his Sparwood, B.C. home and the arrest of his alleged kidnapper in Alberta has caused outrage and disbelieve across Canada.
The boy was taken from his family home and held several days before being released, reportedly unharmed. A 46-year-old convicted sex offender, Randall Hopley, has been arrested and charged.
The case holds lessons that apply just as well in West Central Alberta as they do in southeastern B.C. and southwestern Alberta.
First, the case shows the great value of a well organized, trained and publicly supported search and rescue system.
Although they did not manage to locate the missing boy, search and rescue system volunteers in Sparwood were able to help police by eliminating areas where the boy may have been, thereby helping police focus their search efforts.
Central Alberta has several fine search and rescue associations in place and the case is proof positive that keeping them properly maintained and supported is in everyone's best interest, while at the same time perhaps encouraging more area residents to step forward and volunteer to join the teams.
Second, the case shows that there is a real need for the Amber Alert system to be examined and reviewed to ensure that it works, and works quickly, in helping locate missing children.
Although an Amber Alert was issued in B.C. immediately after it was determined that the boy had been abducted, there was a marked delay in issuing a similar warning in Alberta, even though Sparwood is only a few kilometres away from the Alberta border.
The Amber Alert system is in place to give the public a chance to provide police and other searchers with quick time information following abductions. A review of that system is clearly needed to ensure that delays in issuing future warnings are kept to a minimum, if not eliminated completely.
Third, the case points to a need for lawmakers to review and perhaps make changes to laws regarding the release and control of convicted sex offenders.
For his part, the boy's father says it wasn't the police who failed his son; it was the justice system.
“The judges and the system failed us,” he said. “Our rights have been taken away and our family got hurt. It was the judge that failed.”
In light of the case, perhaps it's time for Conservative MPs, including those in West Central Alberta, to use their majority status in the House of Commons to significantly tighten up the control and management of convicted sex offenders with tougher new laws.
Such new measures would surely have the support of parents here and across Canada.
D.S.
