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Return > Megan's Law - Information on
Registered Sex Offenders
A Program of the
Office of the California Attorney General
A new California
law sponsored by the California Attorney General now provides the
public with Internet access to detailed information on registered
sex offenders.
This information
is intended to raise your awareness and educate you of potential
risks that may be in your community. It is impossible to remove all
risks from your life, but knowledge and awareness are keys to
creating the best circumstances for your safety and the safety of
your loved ones. Please read all the information available
regarding sex registrants and offenders and view the bottom of this
page for links for further safety information. Particularly
informative is a link to “Facts About Sex Offenders.”
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. The new legislation was signed into effect September
24, 2004.
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. California’s Megan’s Law
further expanded the information available in 1996.
California's Megan's Law provides the public with certain
information on the whereabouts of sex offenders so that members of
our local communities 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. In the wake of the
tragedy, 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.
The Online Sex Registrant
Database
As a result of a
new law, the website will provide you with access to information on
more than 63,000 persons required to register in California as sex
offenders. 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 and warning on
the Attorney General’s website, 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 offenders have been caught and convicted. Family,
friends or acquaintances of the victim commit most sex offenses. Be
sure to follow the links at the bottom of this page for more
information.
The 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.
Links and
Resources:
Megan’s Law
California Search of Sex Registrants
http://meganslaw.ca.gov
FAQ’s
http://meganslaw.ca.gov/faq.htm
How to Protect
Yourself and Your Family
http://meganslaw.ca.gov/protect.htm
Facts About Sex
Offenders
http://meganslaw.ca.gov/facts.htm
Sex Offender
Registration Program and Exclusion Information
http://meganslaw.ca.gov/facts.htm
The Megan Kanka
Foundation (Victim who inspired this Legislation nationwide)
http://www.megannicolekankafoundation.org/ |
