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California's
Megan's Law provides the public with certain information
on the whereabouts of sex offenders so that members
of a local community may protect themselves and their
children. Megan's Law is named after seven-year-old
Megan Kanka, a New Jersey girl who was raped and killed
by a known child molester who had moved across the street
from the family without their knowledge. Due to the
tragic death of their daughter, the Kankas sought to
have local communities warned about sex offenders in
the area.
All states now have a form of Megan's
Law. The law is not intended to punish the offender
and specifically prohibits using the information to
harass or commit any crime against an offender.
On September 24, 2004, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
signed Assembly Bill 488, sponsored by the Attorney
General, into law. This bill created Penal Code section
290.46, which directed the Department of Justice to
post specified information regarding serious and high-risk
sex offenders on an Internet web site for public viewing.
For more than 50 years, California has required sex
offenders to register with their local law enforcement
agencies. However, information on the whereabouts of
these sex offenders was not available to the public
until the implementation of the Child Molester Identification
Line in July 1995. The information available was further
expanded by California's Megan's Law in 1996 (Chapter
908, Stats. of 1996).
As a result of the new law, the web site will provide
access to information on more than 63,000 persons required
to register in California as sex offenders. Specific
home addresses, as last reported by the offender, are
displayed on more than 33,500 offenders in the California
communities. 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.
This expanded access allows the public for the first
time to use their personal computers to view information
on sex offenders required to register with local law
enforcement under California's Megan's Law. Previously,
the information was available only by personally visiting
police stations and sheriff offices or by calling a
900 toll-number.
Within the comfort and privacy of your own home, one
must read and acknowledged the disclaimer before searching
the database where you may search by a sex offender's
specific name, obtain ZIP Code and city/county listings,
obtain detailed personal profile information on each
registrant, and use a map application to search your
neighborhood or anywhere throughout the State to determine
the specific location of any of the registrants on whom
the law allows a home address to be displayed.
The Department of Justice web site for registered sex
offenders became operational on December 15, 2004. The
web site was originally expected to be operational by
July 2005. Congratulations to the Department of Justice
for an exceptional job! |
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