Family Watchdog: Alerts About Sex Offenders in Your Area

Sexual offenders are not a subject I like to think about. It's distasteful and disgusting. You probably don't like to read about sex offenders either. Sadly, it's a subject we have to be informed and aware of if we are going to protect ourselves and especially our children and students. As a parent and teacher it is my job to know who, what and where the sexual offenders, especially pedophiles and those who have committed sexual acts against children. If you are concerned about child safety, Family Watchdog is a website you need to explore.

Family Watchdog is a website that displays full information on every registered sex offender in your area. The site has color coded offenders by type of offense. It lists personal information, including description, aliases, offenses and address. The most helpful part of the website for me is that Family Watchdog puts images on the site. I may not recognize a physical description or even a name. But seeing the pictures was a real wake-up call, especially since I recognized several neighbors and a friend or two.

To access Family Watchdog requires no user ID or log in. There is no fee and nothing to download. All you need to do is select your state and type in your zip code (or any other state and ZIP you wish to check). A map will appear with small colored boxes plotted on the map indicating the most updated residence of the offender. Red boxes indicate that the offense was committed on a child. The conviction indicates the degree of the offense, the age of the minor and the number of offenses. Green boxes indicate criminal sexual conduct against people over 16. Blue indicates rape convictions. Family Watchdog also lists persons convicted of possessing, selling and distributing child pornography. Crimes of indecent exposure are also listed. The site is regularly updated. You can sign up to support the site by choice. This helps the organization maintain and update the site

Needless to say, I despise having to write about such matters. I feel physically ill about sex crimes. I did show our youngest daughter the images of offenders who live near us. She had trouble sleeping and felt very uncomfortable, especially when she recognized a man on our next block. I questioned myself about whether it was right to show her. Then I realized that I was doing what I had to do about a horrible situation. I encourage you to alert yourself about dangerous situations; forewarned is forearmed.