Have you ever wondered about that creepy guy living across the street from you? Today there are over 650,000 registered sex offenders living in the United States, and that number is growing by a whopping 25,000 per year. Knowing where these individuals live can be a real advantage and can create peace of mind.
With Vision 20/20’s POM sex offender locator service, you can track where sex offenders live by address. The service brings together the state databases of sex offenders with the easy to use Microsoft Visual Earth mapping system. Similar to other mapping services, users can search by street, city, state, or zip code. The map will show a small criminal-looking icon (
he is wearing a winter cap and has a handlebar mustache) at the exact registered address for sex offenders. Information about the person including name, address, crime, a photo, and last date of registration is available.
This is a really great use of web technology, and I think this could prove very valuable especially for families with children. Users can also register with the service to receive alerts the moment any new offender moves into their neighborhood for free. This service is available only in the United States, and isn’t available in every state yet.
More Commentary: Gizmodo, TechJuicer, and Smart Mobs.
