Staying safe and keeping your family protected is certainly a top priority. If you’re considering buying a home in a new neighborhood, it’s wise to check out any potential risks within the area. One such risk is sex offenders and knowing who they are and where they live in relation to your home is crucial knowledge. Read on to find out how to locate offenders near you and learn other ways you can ensure the safety of your family.

Top websites for locating sex offenders

The Internet provides easy access to a huge variety of lists and maps that tell you where sex offenders live. Make the most of this information by visiting some of these sites:

• Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Website (found at www.nsopw.gov):  Coordinated by the U.S. Department of Justice, this site is a cooperative effort between the federal government and the state agencies that host public sex offender registries. When you enter a single query, the site provides a comprehensive search of sex offender information by tapping into several registries. You can conduct a search by the offender’s name, your zip code, or your local area. Search results bring up pictures, names, personal specifications (height, weight, age, etc.), type and location of offense, place of work, and home address.
• Family Watchdog (found at www.familywatchdog.us):  Family Watchdog is a comprehensive resource for locating sex offenders near your home. You can type in your address to see an annotated map showing where offenders live. When you click on the links to offender locations, the site pulls up the picture and name of each offender. Family Watchdog also tells you how close sex offenders live to schools in your area, breaking it down into offenders within 1000 feet of a school and offenders within a half mile of a school.
• Government Registry Online Records Retrieval (found at www.governmentregistry.org):  This website features a variety of links to public information sources including arrest records, criminal records, and a sex offender database. Data is a compilation of information from state and county governments, criminal records, and court records. Searches are based on your zip code. Once the results come up, you can see how many offenders live in your area. Also listed are the ages of the offenders and the type of offense they committed. To view a photo, name, or full report on the offender, you have to pay a fee.
• State sex offender registries. If you conduct a web search using your state name and the phrase “sex offenders,” you’ll easily be able to locate the sex offender registry specific to your state of residence. In most cases, these sites are run by your state’s Department of Public Safety. By accessing your state’s offender registry you’ll be able to pinpoint information about sex offenders residing in your city. Many state sites allow you to search for offenders by name, street, zip code, city, or county. Results display names, pictures, type and date of offense, and height and weight specifics.

Additional precautions for protecting your family

If you’re a parent, you’ll want to do everything you can to protect your child from sex offenders living in your area. Listed below are some of the most important precautions you can take:

• Be aware of risks in your neighborhood. Regularly check information sources for updates on sex offenders around your neighborhood and near your child’s school.
• Share information with your kids. Have a candid conversation with your kids about the risks that come with talking to strangers. Make your expectations clear by setting rules for your kids, like never to accept a gift from a stranger and never to get in a vehicle with a stranger.
• Support child safety laws. Be aware of legislation in support of child safety laws and do your part to promote the benefits of those laws.
• Teach your child to tell you about unacceptable behavior by adults. Encourage your child to tell you when an adult or older friend engages in odd behavior or actions that make your child uncomfortable. Stress that sharing this information is not “tattling,” but rather crucial knowledge that could keep your child safe.
• Don’t leave your child alone. Until your child is old enough to make educated, mature decisions about whom he or she speaks with, always employ a responsible babysitter or trusted adult to stay with your child when you cannot be there. Don’t let your child walk or ride a bike alone. Instead, encourage use of the buddy system with his or her friends.

Remember that safety is always worth the effort

When it comes to the security of your family, it’s vital that you make a total effort. Take advantage of the wide variety of free information available on government websites and make sure your family stays safe.