find out how many sex offenders live near you

I'm a bit torn on this. I think people can change over time. What's done is done, and I guarantee they've paid the price in more than one way. Some may ask, "is it enough?" Well, I don't know. They may (or may not, as in the example you gave -- in that case I am obviously opposed to this) have done extensive harm to another person, but I wonder if that harm and more is inflicted back at them in both mental and physical ways. Obviously, they would lose most if not all of their friends, possibly their family connections, have to spend time in prison, have to pay money, and on top of that have to live with the emotional guilt for the rest of their lives. In many cases, I feel like this is punishment enough, without being branded for making one mistake for the rest of their lives.

Then, again, there are obviously some people who do not change -- who willingly and purposefully commit these crimes intending to gain pleasure through the harm of others, and whose punishment does not change them at all. Obviously, people should be alerted to these cases. The problem then becomes differentiating between the two. Well, there are some blatant examples of people who are not this way. In your example, the 18 year old is obviously not a crazy psychopath. I can say with some assurance that someone convicted of such a crime who committed it at a younger age probably didn't fully interpret the consequences at the time, although I don't know if a case involving someone under 18 would be treated the same way or given the same label, so that might be a non-issue. Other than those two examples, I think it'd have to be on a case-by-case basis, which is obviously open to corruption and deceit. It's a tricky problem...

So, I guess I have mixed views. I don't really support the site - I think it's kind of a bad invasion of privacy, but I can see the benefits of it. Maybe we should look more at the actual label of sex offender, before discussing the ups and downs of such a site. I think that's the real problem.

 

i think its a great idea. people need to be aware. once a sex offender always a sex offender. not enough people get on the records as it is. my whole nieghborhood is filled with sex offenders. i never took my 14yr old molester to court. now she won't be on the records. still an offender. how many other kids will/did she babysit and molest? i think that privacy doesn't count to criminals!!!

 

Omg There 2 Sex Offender Near Me It Making My Skin Crawl

 

Well...I have mixed feelings. I know there are some on there who probably don't deserve to be on there. For instance, people like the example that surfrboi gave. But as a child care provider, I wouldn't want my kids walking home from school if they had to pass a registered sex offenders home.

 

um too bad? its better to have people who don't need to be registered than people who deserve it not registered. the policy is better safe than sorry. who knows if they are telling the truth?

 

Holy ###%#$ im scarred i live near a offender against children and a rape offender ><

 

I'm totally with you. I honestly think there's a lot of cases where people have been taken to court on a technicality. A lot of people don't even get punished besides for the sex offenders register - but that, in itself, is pretty harsh punishment. Never able to settle, because someone will eventually dredge your name up from the records and drive you out of town.

On the other hand, I wouldn't want to have John Gacy wandering around my locale (I know, he's dead, it's purely a metaphor).

 

I remember there was always this 22 yr old standing outside my high school.Come to find out he went to jail for having sex with a 14 yr old.Then I saw him when he got out.Now I'm hearing of how a guy with the same description raped 3 young girls,only got a year,got out,and did it to another girl.I hope that wasn't the same guy!They really have to work on the punishment they are giving these guys.I think they are being to lenient!

 

I think it is a good idea, however, I think the laws regarding certain sex offenses should be changed. I am also happy no listed sex offenders live near me!

 

I don't necessary agree with the practice... I understand that there are people out there who don't change, but then again there are who try to get better. If they are trying to change, but someone finds this out, how are they supposed to get away from the life that they led before the charges to become a better person?

 

Exactly my point, but more... concise.

 

I just tried it. There's a guy with the exact same name as a friend of mine - but it is definitely not him. Addresses don't coincide, and they don't look alike at all. Plus my friend is bald and has been since he was like 30... and he's older than the sex offender. Much older. Plus I checked the crime, and I know for sure that my friend's type aren't kids under 14. In fact he has said that I (at 19) am way too young for him... lol.

I never had any reasons to feel unsafe with him. But now I feel a little safer...

 

Personally, I think that the issue has less to do with privacy that the actually sex offender registry. Like 24601 alluded to, there needs to be some way to differentiate between those who are on the registry for violent, intentional sexual crimes, versus those on for stat rape, etc. There are always circumstances behind a crime. By no means am I advocating for perpitrator rites over victims rights (victims' rites are already too often overlooked) but it seems that the registry is too generic.

Out of interests sake, is there any accessable list like this for Canada?

 

I think any thing like this, that is totally fear-based and very much about creating a label that sticks to people for life, is a very, very, VERY bad idea. Erosion of privacy is something glbtq people should be concerned about in general, because a lot of people think WE are not terribly different from sex offenders, and I bet no one here would argue we should be on a public list so people can watch out for us. But seriously that is what some people have proposed and would like. Same with people who are HIV+. Or Jewish people, in some big war way back when.

And no, I do not mean that sex offenders are akin to glbtq people, HIV+ people, or Jewish people. It's just that we already have examples of how "sex offender" can mean a wide range of things--to actually entrench the stigma with no thought to individual circumstance is, well, hugely bad.

Anything that trucks in categories of deviance is something you need to watch out for because of all the many times "deviance" gets defined by someone with a fairly radical definition of the word. I have to completely and utterly disagree with whoever said it was better to have false positives than false negatives: it is far better to have 100 guilty people go free than one person wrongly imprisoned. No one is safe when everyone's freedom is in peril.

 

i'm just completely shocked to hear that anyone of you is for sex offenders. like on thier side! yeah satitory rape is not as bad but if its still against the law its still a crime and deserves punishment. its not good for those childrens public records to disappear with sex offenses as soon as they turn 18. if someone raped someone else and they are only 15 in still want to know where they live when they are 25 or even 40 so i don't go letting children around them. maybe my take on this is different because i did happen to be molested and and really angry they police wouldn't do anything unless we took her to court. a 4 yr old shouldn't have to testify about getting molested at that young age. so now this girl is free to go molest others. its just not right for her to go free. even if it was on her records it would disapper most likely after she turned 18. who would want her as a childr care provider, teacher, ect? no way! yeah they can't clean their past but so what!? if its not you don't worry about it. planning on molesting/raping someone and don't want it on your record? then its your problem not mine that in 20 years you are still labeled as a sex offender. i'd would rather have innocent people imprisoned than guilty people go free! i don't want rapists and murders out there while one innocent person is sitting a cell, living off goverment money and getting more food in a day and better treatment than a homeless person who is most likely innocent themself. thats society. yeah it sux for some but thats life. those who need punishment should get it and thats all i have to say for right now.

 

We're not for all of them. Did you actually read the entire content of the posts?

I know of several cases where people are being prosecuted in crimes despite having done nothing wrong. I know of someone who is now trapped in a massive court case, and undoubtedly going to prison, because someone gave him a disk with child porn on it. He doesn't know why, and all he did was forget to bin it. When he, shocked, told a friend what this guy had done, the 'friend', not taking the disk and destroying it, or taking it to the police as evidence against the guy handing these things out, no, he turned in the guy who received it.

And then accused him of rape, I do believe. (which was eventually thrown out of court)

So all he did wrong was not bin something. Now he's gonna possibly go to prison, he's gonna be on that register, the lot of it. He won't be able to get a good job, because nobody will take him on, he can't really go on holiday, because no country will let him in, all of that...

Purely because he didn't bin something.

Sucks for some? Those caught up in this register purely on technicalities have had their entire lives destroyed.

 

i may sound evil but this is how i deal with most things: not my problem.
why should i, random person, care about these sort of people? all i care about is knowing where the bad guys live (regardless of they deserve it) and know not to talk with them.
life sucks. peoples lives are ruined over much worse things such as murder, suicide, accidental murder, people dying of cancer, having cancer, so people being wrongly convicted and being monitered is really much less on my scale of things to worry about. i'm most apt to worry about real rapists and molesters.

 

Yeah... TOTALLY not your problem until someone you know is false accused or wrongfully imprisoned. I'm sure you'd change your tune then.