Some civil libertarians and editorialists have argued for curbs on Megan's Law. Last month, before this story broke, the Economist editorialized: "Instead of posting everything on the Internet, names could be held by the police, who would share them only with those, such as a school, that need to know." And: "The money that a repeal saves could help pay for monitoring compulsive molesters more intrusively -- through ankle bracelets and the like."
Sorry, but if only experts were in charge, Garrido likely would be written off as low risk -- with only a parole violation in 1993 for a crime for which he was first paroled in 1988.
The best crime-fighting tool, which allowed parents to watch out for their children and enabled Jacobs to unravel the mystery, was knowledge.