THE PROPOSALS announced by Home Secretary Jack Straw today for the locking up of dangerous psychopaths and other people with untreatable personality disorders, such as intractable paedophiles - even if they have not been convicted of a crime - may be severe, but they are necessary.

For though civil liberty campaigners and some mental health groups have expressed alarm, the real horror of this issue is the present situation.

Because, at the moment, these "walking time bomb" people first have to explode and kill, maim or molest someone before they can be dealt with.

And even then, there may be more dread to follow. This is graphically illustrated by the case in Mr Straw's own constituency of a child sex offender due for imminent release from prison, who, by his own admission, may attack again and yet upon whom the only restraint will be having his name and address in a police register.

Similarly, the perils of the present system are highlighted by the case of hammer-killer Michael Stone who was allowed to walk free until he was convicted of murdering Lyn Russell and her daughter Megan, even though he was considered to be a danger and had himself begged to be admitted to hospital.

There has got to be a place for these people to be held. At present, they slip through the net between hospital, because they can only be detained there if they are "treatable", and prison, where they can only be held for the duration of their sentence.

This is clearly unsafe.

And the real outrage should be reserved for the fate of the victims who have been let down by government failure in the past to take the commonsense and necessary steps that Mr Straw outlines for a new "third service" outside the prison or hospital systems to detain these people.

It may not come easy to a free society to lock up people who have done no wrong, but it is the rights and protection of the majority that must prevail when they are faced with the manifest dangers these people present, even in some cases by their own acknowledgment.

There must, however, be safeguards and frequent and open inspection of the system Mr Straw proposes.

But doing nothing and condoning the risk of little children being sexually molested by paedophiles freed to prey again or of people being killed by recognised psychopaths allowed to do as they please is not something that even the most liberal-minded can truly defend.

Better safe than sorry.

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