Searching for Sex Offenders

Searching for Sex Offenders

I recently received a notification from the New York State Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) that a registered sex offender had relocated into my zip code.  I thought others might be interested in this service or in searching for registered sex offenders who already live in a particular zip code. You can search the Public Registry of Sex Offenders to find registered sex offenders who live in your neighborhood.  You can also ask to be notified any time a sex offender moves in, or out of a given zip code, county or the vicinity of a particular address.  This service is provided for free by the New York State DCJS.  The information on convicted sex offenders is public information and New York State has made it very simple and convenient to access through the internet.

To search by zip code just go to the   Search Public Registry of Sex Offenders and enter the zip code you wish to search. (NY State, 2012)  A page will appear listing all of the Level 2 & Level 3 registered sex offenders in that zip code.  To find out more information on any given individual click on his name and a new page will open.  That page will include a photo of the offender, his physical description, his listed residence- along with the option to view this location on the map- and information about the offense that caused him to register.  Pay particular attention to the “Conviction” box as it will contain information about the victim in the case for which he is registered including the victim’s sex and age. If this person is a “preferential pedophile” this could indicate which categories of children (sex, age) may be attractive to him.  But, if the offender is a “situational pedophile”, any child – or available adult – will be attractive to him.

Level 1 (those adjudged to be the lowest risk to the community) Sex Offenders are not listed on this page.  You can find out if someone is a registered Level 1 Sex Offender but you need to search by his name and one other personal identifier.  Personal identifiers are dates of birth, social security number or exact address.

If you would like to be informed whenever a registered Level 2 or 3 Sex Offender relocates in or out of an area you can sign up on the Search Public Registry page by clicking on “Relocation Alerts Sign up” in the box on the right side of the page.  You can elect to receive alerts via email, text, fax or if none of those are available, by phone.   You can chose to be notified whenever an offender relocates to or from up to three, counties, three zip codes or radii surrounding up to three addresses; or any combination of the above.  A person could select their home address, the address of their youngest child’s elementary school and their oldest child’s middle school for example. 

Do not assume a new acquaintance is safe just because you haven’t received a notification or he isn’t listed in the database.  There are many reasons a pedophile or adult sex offender may not appear on the website – the simplest explanation being that they haven’t been caught yet.  Rapes are notoriously under-reported and hard to prosecute.  I think there are many more non-registered sex offenders than those who have been caught, tried, convicted and forced to register as part of their sentence.  Even if he has been convicted and registered an offender may defy the law and relocate without notifying the registering authority of his new residence.  This is just a tool – don’t let it lull you into a false sense of security. 

Finally, the DCJS website warns that: “Anyone who uses this information to injure, harass, or commit a criminal act against any person may be subject to criminal prosecution.” Please use this information to protect yourself and your family; don’t misuse it to commit a crime or to violate someone’s rights.

Source:

NY State. (2012, 10 18). Search Public Registry of Sex Offenders. Retrieved from NY State Department of Criminal Justice Services: http://www.criminaljustice.ny.gov/SomsSUBDirectory/search_index.jsp