Sex Offenders and Megan's LawInformation on Registered Sex Offenders Megan's Law is a federal law passed in 1996 that authorizes local law enforcement agencies to notify the public about convicted sex criminals living, working or visiting their communities. Megan's Law was inspired by the case of seven-year-old Megan Kanka, a New Jersey girl who was raped and killed by a known child molester who moved across the street from the family. The Kanka family fought to have local communities warned about known sex molesters in the area. The New Jersey legislature passed Megan's Law in 1994. In 1996, the U.S. Congress passed Megan's Law as an amendment to the Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children's Act. It required every state to develop some procedure for notifying the public when a convicted sex criminal is released into their community. Home safety awareness for the neighborhood, and personal safety awareness for the individuals. Different states have different procedures for making the required disclosures. The federal law was not the first on the books that addressed the issue of registering convicted sex predators. As early as 1947, California had laws that required sex offenders to be registered. Since the passage of the federal law in May of 1996, all states have passed some form of Megan's Law. We live in California, so I used this web site as a great example of the information that is available. Additional information for personal safety awareness as well as home safety awareness that applies to everyone can be found on the California web site. Welcome to the California Department of Justice's Internet web site, which lists designated registered sex criminals in California. As a result of a new law, this site will provide you with access to information on more than 63,000 persons required to register in California as sex predators. Specific home addresses are displayed on more than 33,500 offenders in the California communities; as to these persons, the site displays the last registered address reported by the offender. An additional 30,500 offenders are included on the site with listing by ZIP Code, city, and county. Information on approximately 22,000 other offenders is not included on this site, but is known to law enforcement personnel. Once you have read and acknowledged the disclaimer on the next page, you may search the database by a sex offender's specific name, obtain ZIP Code and city/county listings, obtain detailed personal profile information on each registrant, and use our map application to search your neighborhood or anywhere throughout the State to determine the specific location of any of those registrants on whom the law allows us to display a home address. Not all sex criminals have been caught and convicted. Most sex offenses are committed by family, friends or acquaintances of the victim. Be sure to click on the links to the left for more information on How to Protect Yourself and Your Family, Facts about Sex Offenders, Frequently Asked Questions, and Sex Offender's Registration Requirements in California. This website indicates that many of these registrants are currently in violation of their registration requirements. Any information you may have on these individuals should be reported to your local law enforcement.
If you reside in another state, then use the above google search: i.e. Megan's Law + your State
Safety Awareness is Job # 1. Next visit
Safety S.O.S (Stature,Observation,and Stride)
Personal Safety |
A Rapist Warning |
Self Defense Statistics |
|
