Every new case of child abduction and violent sexual assault proves that we must find a better way to identify risk to prevent the next one. However, the approach advocated by Rep. Mark Foley, Florida Republican, and Sen. Orrin Hatch, Utah Republican ("Making prey of the predators," Commentary, Friday) panders to every parent's worst nightmare yet fails to offer an effective response.
What we need are not tougher laws, but smarter ones. Florida has the strictest sex-offender-registry law in the country. Nevertheless, the state's hard-line approach did not prevent the hideous abductions and killings of Jessica Lunsford and Sarah Lunde.
Instead, we need a bold approach that funds treatment that works; ensures effective community re-entry; monitors those who pose the most risk; and invests in prevention for the estimated 90 percent of offenders who are never caught: family members and others close to the child, not just the stranger near the bus stop.
