Senator Owen H. Johnson: New Facebook App Tracks Sex Offenders Near You

Program allows parents to quickly search surroundings
for threats to children

Senator Owen H. Johnson wants to notify his constituents that the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) has launched a Sex Offender Locator application which is accessible via the New York State Public Safety Facebook page. The app makes it easier for parents who want to quickly look up information regarding Level 2 and Level 3 Sex Offenders within their immediate area.

    “As both parents and children become more reliant on social networking sites and the internet in general, it is great to see New York State once again leading the way in providing innovative ways for people to keep their families safe and free from harm,” said Senator Johnson. “The more we educate the public and keep them informed, the better off our communities will be.”

    This new app, located at https://www.facebook.com/NYSPublicSafety, will allow users to search for Level 2 and Level 3 Sex Offenders by last name, county or zip code. When searching by county or zip code, results will include individuals who have used aliases or different spellings of their name to circumvent New York State laws. After an individual is selected, their picture, location and criminal history will be given to the interested party.

Facebook users also can share the application to their own pages and encourage their friends to do the same.

    The Sex Offender Locator application was launched as a complement to the NY-Alert system currently run by New York State. Located at http://www.nyalert.gov/, the NY-Alert system allows individuals to receive an e-mail alert whenever there is activity regarding relocation or new criminal activity of a Sex Offender within a certain radius around their house or other designated point.

    “The legislature has fought to keep our children safe from Sex Offenders and the continued activities by New York State Public Safety, the Department of Criminal Justice and local law enforcement have continued to implement potentially life saving measures. I look forward to increased use of these online resources and will continue to remind parents of the tools at their disposal to keep children safe at all times,” concluded Senator Johnson.