MISSION (NEWS 1130) – A Mission mom of two has more questions than answers after being told someone who’s not supposed to be with children is living near her.
The notification came last week from BC Corrections, which told Natasha Zimmerman they couldn’t provide any more details, including whether or not the person is living in the same apartment building as her.
“I feel very scared, I don’t feel safe in my own home at all,” Zimmerman tells NEWS 1130.
She got the warning over the phone after she missed a visit from someone with Abbotsford Community Corrections at her apartment. A letter was left behind, saying someone had visited to talk about a public safety matter, so she called the number at the bottom.
“There is someone who is living within close proximity of myself that is to have no access to anyone under the age of 16,” Zimmerman recalls she was told. “And [the person on the phone] proceeded to ask me if I had anyone in my house under the age of 16. I said ‘yes, I have two daughters, one that’s nine and one that’s 14.'”
Zimmerman says she asked if the person was living in her building but was told that information couldn’t be provided.
“And that’s what frustrates me the most, I have zero details. I don’t know if this person, you know, is a child killer, I don’t know what this person is all about and I don’t even know the face to be able to recognize who this person is, say if I run into them in the hallway with my daughter.”
BC Corrections told Zimmerman someone would be coming by her building again this week. She hopes at that time she’ll at least be shown a picture of the person in question and if she discovers that they live in her building, she says she’ll consider moving.
“Honestly, it has created so much anxiety. I do not want to leave my house with my daughter. I feel like I can’t even, you know, go take the trash out and leave her in our apartment,” Zimmerman adds.
Privacy legislation does not permit further disclosure
BC Corrections tells NEWS 1130 that because of privacy laws, it can’t comment on specific people under its supervision.
“As part of the effective management of individuals under court-ordered supervision in the community, and in accordance with legislation and privacy requirements, BC Corrections may conduct a “consistent purpose notification” to immediate neighbours of an offender who is living in the community under court-ordered conditions,” it says in an e-mailed statement.
“Public safety is the goal of any such awareness-building notification. Notifications may be issued to an individual, neighbours, group or the general public to ensure people have the information they need to protect themselves and their families.”
It says that staff are only authorized to show the offender’s picture, and their court-ordered conditions.
“Privacy legislation does not permit further disclosure beyond what is shared with residents during the course of issuing a notification,” the statement adds.
Zimmerman thinks something needs to change so that parents can get more information.
“For me, I think that our children need to be protected first and foremost, I mean if you’ve done a crime, people deserve to know who you are, what you look like.”