Post by Sher on Aug 15, 2005 17:14:22 GMT -5
Aug. 22, 2005 issue - Few things unsettle parents as much as the prospect of a sex offender living in their midst. Now there's a new way to find out: mapsexoffenders.com. Launched last month and still in the beta stage, the free Web site has grafted publicly available state sex-offender registries onto Google maps. Type in your address and up pops a map of your neighborhood with red flags marking the residences of sex offenders. Click on a flag and a window appears with the predator's name, address, photo and offense. So far, the site has 34 states mapped, and its developer—Orbizon Inc., an Orem, Utah, Web-development company—aims to reach about 40. (Oregon and South Dakota don't have statewide Internet sex-offender registries yet—a requirement they must meet by next year under new federal legislation updating Megan's Law—and other states either don't allow their registry information to be publicized by third parties or use technology incompatible with mapsexoffenders.com's system.) Law enforcement has lauded Orbizon's effort. "Anything anybody can do to get the word out about sex offenders is a great idea," says John Bittick, former president of the National Sheriffs' Association.
Mapsexoffenders.com isn't the only tool available to parents. Last month the Justice Department unveiled the National Sex Offender Public Registry (nsopr.gov), which directly links to individual state data-bases—24 so far. Other Web sites also compile the information, but many of them charge fees or require wading through annoying corporate offers. Orbizon is itself considering a corporate sponsor or ads to help pay for its efforts—a possibility that some find troubling. "We have great concern about for-profit corporations' making money off the backs of child victims of sexual abuse," says Laura Ahearn of Parents for Megan's Law. But Orbizon spokesman Mark Olsen insists all money would go toward supporting the site. Above all, he says, "we're trying to get information out there to protect families."
Mapsexoffenders.com isn't the only tool available to parents. Last month the Justice Department unveiled the National Sex Offender Public Registry (nsopr.gov), which directly links to individual state data-bases—24 so far. Other Web sites also compile the information, but many of them charge fees or require wading through annoying corporate offers. Orbizon is itself considering a corporate sponsor or ads to help pay for its efforts—a possibility that some find troubling. "We have great concern about for-profit corporations' making money off the backs of child victims of sexual abuse," says Laura Ahearn of Parents for Megan's Law. But Orbizon spokesman Mark Olsen insists all money would go toward supporting the site. Above all, he says, "we're trying to get information out there to protect families."
