Kerre Woodham: Sad case of Barry Brown

The case of Barry Brown, the convicted paedophile who is suing the police for invasion of privacy, is such a sad one.

There's no doubt about it, he's caused dreadful damage to many, many families.

He has convictions for molesting small children dating back to the 1980s, so I can understand the police, many of whom would have kids of their own, wanting to protect the community by warning them of a recidivist paedophile in their midst. But the guy has an extremely low IQ, is illiterate and suffers from a range of physical ailments, including severe epilepsy.

No amount of sitting around in consciousness-raising groups is going to make this man come to the realisation that his preying on children is wrong.

No amount of jail time is going to turn his life around.

What earthly good is served by having Brown living in the community? It's tough enough to make a go of life when you've got all your wits about you - this guy's on a hiding to nothing. Forcing Brown to live within a community that doesn't want him around is a recipe for disaster.

I know institutionalising people is terribly out of fashion and possibly for a good reason. In the past there have been people who were locked away who shouldn't have been. Many mental health patients are doing just fine in independent living arrangements and that's good.

But surely institutions were made for people like Barry Brown. Locking people away behind high walls isn't just about keeping the community safe - it's also about giving the Barry Browns of this world a safe haven, too.