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Mar 24, 2008 6:00 pm US/Central
New Database Lists More Sex Offender Information
MANSFIELD (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ―
While North Texans can already look up a sex offender's address by zip code, upgrades to a state run website now give people a chance to find out where an offender works.
More than 2,300 convicted sex offenders live in the City of Dallas, nearly 1,000 live in the Fort Worth area, and more than 400 live in Arlington.
Mansfield residents are meeting Monday night to consider regulations that would limit where convicted sex offenders can live. The proposal is a result of concern by residents after neighbors in one area of the city found out, online, that an offender was living nearby. Local resident's say just a little bit of information can dramatically affect a neighborhood.
"It hurts a neighborhood, it really does hurt a neighborhood," concerned neighbor John Helmick told CBS 11 News. "There's a lot of girls around here and uh, they're having to stay in their houses and I mean that's not fair."
One part of the Mansfield proposal would prohibit offenders, who have completed probation or are on parole, from living within 1,000 feet of a school, daycare, playground, youth center, public swimming pool or video arcade. Offenders would also be forbidden from living in a house or trailer that is within a 1,000-foot 'safety zone'.
Residents in one Mansfield neighborhood would not have known that a convicted child molester moved into a local house if it hadn't been for a current Texas Department of Public Safety database. The website gives a description, current address, and photo of the offender.
Soon a new one million dollar upgrade to the database will also list the offender's employer and e-mail residents updates about offenders in their zip code.
"I think anytime that you have a registered sex offender living in your area, if you can know that they do have a job that kind of implies that they're not just sitting around aimlessly during the day," said Mansfield resident Steve Kyle. "Plus it will give you an idea of what kind of hours they may be keeping and I think it's also important to consider what type of job they have."
The 'improved' database has left some wondering if the availability of the detailed information would unfairly harm employers trying to give someone a 'second chance'. Just like ordinances that restrict where convicted sex offenders can go, there are many legal 'gray' areas.
For the state there is no debate, leaders are under pressure from the federal government to release more information to the public, if not municipalities could lose federal tax money.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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