<p>Let your friends and families know about this website, it’s pretty scary!
Okay, here’s the deal… go to this link and near the bottom left, it
has a “Click Here” button… click on it and enter your address… it
will show a “house”, that’s yours… all the little colored boxes are
Sex Offenders… click on them and you get a name, address & picture
of the person along with his crime… </p>
<p>I have seen sites similar to this in the past - but this one is pretty amazing and scary…</p>
<p>I thought this was going to be about “do you know your neighbors” & I was going to say yes actually.
We see neighbors up and down our street regularly, dogsit, talkabout schools, bulbs, traffic, we have a block party every summer and occasionaly other events. I also meet many people out dog walking, and we usually stop and introduce ourselves while the dogs are doing whatever it is dogs do.
But while I have seen those sites usually connected with police in som eway- I don’t keep tabs on them- I feel it is more time effective to practice safe behavior where ever you are, but I feel safer knowing my neighbors, to know that someone is watching my house when I am gone, knows my kids etc.</p>
<p>I wonder how accurate this site really is, because clicking on the red or yellow box and reading the conviction/charge has made me sick to my stomach!</p>
<p>Yes, this is very scarry, especially if you enter the your children’s school address, or observe how many are located near neighborhood parks.</p>
<p>This is not the way that I want to start my Monday!</p>
<p>well they don’t even list our state anyway
Just as well as I know that there are a lot of questionable activities in the area- I often see multiple police cars at the gas station across the street from teh school, my daughter tells me it isn’t a safe place after school lets out.
The principal locks all the outside doors except one- to limit characters from the neighborhood gaining access to the school, although several students have been assaulted going to or from lunch off campus.
It pays to pay attention, and practice safe behavior.
My daughter will be much more street aware when she graduates, than her sister was, who attended a private school just a few blocks away- but what a difference a few blocks makes- in atmosphere anyway.</p>
<p>You know, EK, I read the title and saw the same thing. And I do know my neighbors, which does make me feel safer.</p>
<p>A couple weeks ago, two policemen came to my door. I froze as I opened it, and barely understood that it was a notification of a sex offender in the neighborhood. I closed the door, and burst into tears. Why? Because the last time two policemen came to the door, it was to inform us that my H’s sister had been killed in a car accident. I was sure someone I loved was dead.</p>
<p>Obviously, that wasn’t their fault. I know I need to take the notifiction seriously, but I mostly agree with EK, practice safe habits, know your neighbors, etc.</p>
<p>Interesting! It showed several offenders in nearby towns, but none in mine. However, that is not accurate as our police department website shows several. While it may be a useful tool, I think your local departments are a better source.</p>
<p>For every reported convicted sex offender who is living in your neighborhood, there are a hundred others that you don’t know about. The registry does almost nothing to make people safer (and perhaps less so, by breeding a general air of distrust.)</p>
<p>“The registry does almost nothing to make people safer (and perhaps less so, by breeding a general air of distrust.)”</p>
<p>You’re probably right. If anything, the registry leaves people paranoid about who is in their neighborhood, especially when one thinks about who might be out there doing stuff, but just hasn’t been convicted yet.</p>
<p>Someone I know has a registered offender right on their block, according to that Family Watchdog site!</p>
<p>Thanks. There are two offenders less than one mile from my house. And several more within 2-3 miles. It is good to have their photos.<br>
I know there are more out there. It doesn’t make me feel any more or less safe, but this site could be very helpful in some cases and I’m glad someone is doing this.</p>
<p>Apparently, the Megan’s Law website here in California even lists a headshot of the registered offender, so you can check if you “recognize” your neighbor. </p>
<p>I see where two convicted rapists are living together two blocks away and can actually view their mug shot. !!! Gross !!!</p>
<p>When we lived in a semi-urban part of the US, policemen once came to our house in the middle of the night.</p>
<p>Here’s what happened…it was late one night, after 11 pm. H and I were under the covers and not dressed for guests. Suddenly, we heard a noise in the kitchen. H pulled on some Jammies and ran down to confront whomever. It was a nice policeman with a flashlight.</p>
<p>Seems H had parked the car on the street hours earlier. He left his car door open (thinking he was going to go right back out). Neighbors gathered from far and wide. They conjured up a sinister scene of H being dragged from his car into the house whereupon criminals tortured the whole family. (These were midwestern orthopedic surgeons, neurosurgeons, lawyers. No professional screenwriters in the bunch). </p>
<p>The wannabe screenwriters called the police who then came through the kitchen door–because it was unlocked. </p>
<p>We had such a laugh. It took us hours to stop giggling.</p>
<p>My neighbors inthe East Village were drug dealers. They used to sit onour stoop and talk about how many strikes they had left before going to the fed pen. I once asked them to turn down the boom box and they gave me a big lecture about how disgraceful it was for someone to live in New York and go to bed before midnight! (btw All of their customers were nice rich suburban kids who drove in from Westchester, Connecticut and New Jersey).</p>
<p>They give someone the sex offender label for very minor (misdemeanor) offenses now. These lists are pointless. These people have served their time and should not be blacklisted. How in the hell are they supposed to get a job or have a normal life anymore? (after serving time for the crime) They should have a list of registered women who filed false rape claims or people who received public subsidies for housing. THAT would be a list of red flags for me.</p>
<p>Sex offenses are not minor if they involve <em>your</em> child. These offenders tend to repeat. Even if they’ve served their time, they are still very often a threat to society. That’s why they make them register.</p>
<p>It would be wise for RE agents to check this before showing a house. I saw one serious offender on the same block where we looked seriously at a house. Something like that would tilt a decision for me if I could verify they still lived there.</p>
<p>People who committ sexual offenses against small children are locked away for many, many, many years. These are not the people I was talking about. Sexual assult can be twisted to include someone grabbing a boob at a bar and then being labeled a sexual predator. Having to register with the police and inform neighbors. Tell me how this is fair?</p>
<p>Well, I’ll comment. 43% recidivism rate is correct but actually, the 43% rate is for ALL offenders - the recidivism rate for ANY offenses among sex offenders is around 15%. And most sex offenders do not get caught commiting another sex offense again. Most of the bizarreness around sex fiends is pure media hype, another Bill O’Reilly moment to sell ad space. (They may commit more offenses, but since for every sex crime for which an arrest is made represents a hundred or so for which they are not, it is hardly relevant to community safety issues.) Sex offenses generally speaking, and sex offenses against children have declined very substantially over the past 15 years.</p>
<p>There’s a child offender in the cul-de-sac where I used to babysit three kids for four hours every week. That completely freaks me out–that was a very, very nice neighborhood! I’m so glad they’ve moved.</p>