Evil child killer Dante Arthurs should be banned from parole consideration and relegated to the same blacklist reserved for serial killers and mass murderers, according to former top cop Karl O’Callaghan.

But before the end of June, Arthurs will be reviewed for parole for the first time with the Prisoners Review Board to make a recommendation to Attorney-General John Quigley.

Arthurs’ strangling murder of eight-year-old schoolgirl Sofia Rodriguez Urrutia-Shu in a Canning Vale shopping centre toilet in June 2006 was a crime that shook WA, and it’s one that still haunts Mr O’Callaghan, who was police commissioner at the time.

The killer was sentenced to life with a non-parole period of 13 years, with a public outcry prompting tougher penalties to be introduced.

“His is one of the most horrific crimes, notwithstanding it’s not a serial crime, but this was a terrible crime against a young child ... this is probably the worst case that I’ve ever seen in my time as commissioner,” Mr O’Callaghan said.

The McGowan Government last year reformed WA’s parole laws for serial killers and mass murderers, banning them for parole consideration for up to six years. But single killers are not included in the new laws and Mr Quigley has no plans to extend them.

“It’s OK to have non-consideration of parole for serial killers, but there are other types of crime which are so terrible in the eyes of the public that we should include those in that legislation as well I think,” Mr O’Callaghan said.

Camera Icon Sofia Rodriguez-Urrutia-Shu.

“I can’t see the parole board or the Attorney-General releasing him, so I don’t think it’s going to be an issue, but it’s just the fact that it does have to be considered ... it does retraumatise the families, there’s no doubt about that.”

Mr O’Callaghan met Sofia’s parents to personally apologise after police bungled an earlier investigation into Arthurs’ attacking another young girl.

“That was traumatic for them, traumatic for me and certainly wouldn’t want to go through that again,” he said.

Mr Quigley said including single killers in the new laws would create unintended consequences. “We would see a mother who killed her child or children in distressing circumstances elevated to the same category as serial killer Catherine Birnie,” he said.

Mr Quigley, who has the final say on Arthurs’ release, said the wishes of Sofia’s family would “weigh heavily” in his decision regarding “one of the most shocking and brutal crimes in recent times”.

“I can only begin to imagine the pain and suffering that Sofia’s family has gone through and continues to live with every day,” he said.

In 2016, Sofia’s father Gabriel Rodriguez said he hoped Arthurs would be behind bars for “as long as possible.”

Almost 120,000 people have signed an online petition against Arthurs’ release.