Sex Offenders in Your Neighborhood! PLEASE READ!

I work at a nightclub on Thursday nights. This past Thursday night, a waitress and I were discussing how many absolutely disgusting things customers say to us involving a sexual nature. Somehow we ended up on the topic of “SEX CRIMES". My co-worker, Kim, mentioned that when she first moved to Michigan she did a “Sexual Offender Search" to find local criminals in her area. To her surprise there was over 105 in her city alone, one of which was her next-door neighbor. Kim is a single mother of two girls, ages 5 and 12. The neighbor in question had been charged with sexual assault towards minors (two counts). Outraged, Kim began tying to discover ways to protect her children.

When I heard this news I decided to check out this web site for myself. I too was shocked to discover that in my city there were 54 sexual offenders. Most between the ages of 26 – 32. This site is very informative; it not only discloses the date of the crime but also what the crime was, possible alias’s the criminal could be using and the complete address of the offenders residence. Some profiles even included a color photo.

Going back to the situation with Kim. She was completely horrified to discover that the man she talks to every morning has preyed upon children. The apartment complex in which Kim and her children live is full of other little girls and boys. This complex also happens to be the same place where the offender committed both of the other crimes. Kim feels that she should have been told this information sooner. She feels that is is our right, as citizens to be able to make our families as safe as possible at all times and it is the governments obligation to do whatever it takes to help us achieve this.

One of her suggestions was to have the city mail this information to every citizen yearly so each family could take action accordingly. Another suggestion is to have this list of offenders be easily accessible in multiple locations.

What is the solution? Should the city/state provide its citizens with criminal information? Would this help protect people?
While browsing the internet I was able to find the following information (After this short story I have included a list of web sites and how you can look up local sex offenders in your area):

Megan's Law: In July of 1994, Jesse Timmendequas, a convicted sex offender, raped, beat and strangled Megan Nicole Kanka. This sex offender lived across the street from the Kanka family, however the family was never aware of this. Since Megan's death, the Kanka family has fought to get laws approved that requires each state make public information about sex offenders. Most states do this through an online sex offender registry website. In addition, each sex offender, by law, must be compliant to re-register each time they move or annually. The Kanka family created a foundation in behalf of their daughter and received some 430,000 signatures to create these new proposed laws called 'Megan's Law.' In 1996 President Bill Clinton signed legislation requiring states to notify communities when a sex offender moves into the area. In signing the law Clinton noted the rights of former offenders, but said "there is no greater right than a parentâs right to raise a child in safety and love." Since this time, each state in the nation has developed and maintained an online registry of all the registered sex offenders. In addition, laws have been cracking down on such things that lead to sex crimes, such as child pornography, sexual assaults on children under the age of 16, and sexually lewd acts. Megan’s Law allows the States discretion to establish criteria for disclosure, but compels them to make private and personal information on registered sex offenders available to the public. Community notification: 1. Assists law enforcement in investigations; 2. Establishes legal grounds to hold known sex offenders; 3. Deters sex offenders from committing new sex offenses; 4. Offers citizens information they can use to protect children from Registered Sex Offenders, child molesters and victimization. Megan Nicole Kanka Foundation

Here are some states and their local sexual offenders lists by city. If your state is not listed you may want to search for “FIND SEXUAL OFFENDERS (YOUR STATE)". You should be immediately directed to a page that will ask for your zip code. If you enter it you will be given a complete list of every sexual deviant in your city.

MI
http://www.mipsor.state.mi.us/mipsor/default.htm

AZ
az.gov/webapp/offender/main.do

AB
www.dps.state.al.us/public/abi/system/so

CA
www.meganslaw.ca.gov

FL
www3.fdle.state.fl.us/sexual_predators

TX
records.txdps.state.tx.us/soSearch/default.cfm

**** MapSexOffenders.Com is an excellent site but it is a little tricky to use. It works for all states.