Crime Mapping

Megan’s Law posts a list of sex offenders in a person’s area. The law places restrictions on where sex offender can live. Not every offense requires a person to stay on the registry for the rest of his life. However, a person concerned about the safety of the people in his neighborhood can use the sex offender registry.

How to Use the Sex Offender Registry

Anyone can use the sex offender registry. The government lets a person search the registry by name and by location. All a person has to do to find sex offenders in his area is to use the site to find the street addresses of sex offenders in their community. Users need to remember that this site simply provides information. A neighborhood with many sex offenders can be avoided. Parents can keep their children away from certain individuals. Being on the list, however, is not an indicator of a person’s current tendencies. The registry is not supposed to be used to harass the individuals located. Its purpose is to provide warning to other people in the neighborhood.

Other Things to Remember About the Registry

The registry does not always contain updated information. Although the people required to place their names on this registry must update their information, this does not always occur. Some of the people required to register simply forget to add their names while others deliberately fail to update the information. Not every crime that places a person on the sex offender registry requires a person to stay on the list for the rest of his or her life. The offense and severity of the crime determines how long a person must stay on the list. The list will give you the type of offender, what the offender is accused of, the offender’s picture and his picture.