Ungovernable monsters: Law, paedophilia, crisis

Abstract

In recent years, Australian jurisdictions have moved to address the risk of those deemed to be serious sex offenders through the implementation of post-sentence measures, including continued detention and supervision. Post-sentence preventative detention and monitoring are now realities in several Australian states. These moves have been described elsewhere as regimes of suspended rights; however, they also signify a suspension or reversal of legal principle: while the law historically has been concerned with actuality, postsentence preventative detention and supervision of a particular class of sex offenders signal a shift away from actual conduct towards an increasingly rigorous preoccupat..