Halifax Regional Police is warning residents, especially those in Dartmouth, N.S., that a convicted murderer who is considered a high-risk offender is living in the area.
Police say 73-year-old Douglas Worth has a criminal history dating back to 1968 for crimes that include rape, break and enter, theft of motor vehicles and prison breach.
Worth had been serving a life sentence for a second-degree murder he committed in Brampton, Ont., in December 1987 before his release from prison.
“The release of this information is in accordance with the Nova Scotia Release of High-Risk Offender Information Protocol,” said Halifax Regional Police in a news release.
“It is provided to alert members of the public of his presence in the community and is not intended to encourage any form of vigilante activity or other unreasonable conduct.”
Michael Boudreau, a criminology professor at Saint Thomas University, said the parole board would have considered Worth’s risk to re-offend before releasing him.
“They may have taken into account his age and may have thought that he no longer poses a risk to the public or to re-offend,” Boudreau said. “He may have also shown remorse and taken responsibility for his past criminal deeds.
“If people in Dartmouth are concerned about this person living in their neighborhood, they have every right to feel concerned because there’s the unknown factor.”
Police say Worth must abide by several conditions, including having no contact with children or his victims, no drugs or alcohol, and all of his relationships must be reported.
-With files from CTV News Atlantic’s Vanessa Wright
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