Sharing a Yard with a Violent Sex Offender?

This article is an important must read for anybody who has children, cares for children and those who feel as if they live in a safe and secure neighborhood. Chances are the safe and quiet neighborhood that you are raising your children, where you have met all your neighbors and have often fell asleep watching the late show as your screen door is the only thing separating you from the outside world, has a sex offender who also calls this area home.

If you would like to research your area here is a link you will find useful, Family Watchdog. This site gave both my boyfriend and I the shock of our lives, as I will explain this later in this article. When I entered my home address and chose to view a map listing I came up with 460 offenders and also 34 non-mappable offenders. When I found a page of offender counts for each state, I felt a sick and fearful turning in the pit of my stomach as I read 3025 offenders are residing here in Idaho, these are actual number of offenders that are publicly viewable in the official state registries. While I studied the map I was sickened to find that right next to us lived a violent sex offender, these people are classified as violent because they are likely to offend again. Our lives have become very different since this discovery. We have placed blankets upon our windows and my children do not walk any place without an adult, nor do they play outside other than in our back yard where it is fenced off. Why is it us that have to change our lifestyle, we did nothing wrong.

I spoke to his probation officer and asked many questions, come to find out my neighbor has an ankle monitor and is watched very closely. But what really worries me is this, the information is available for all community for free, as long as you have access to the web. Many families are having tough times right now and have no Internet and are probably unaware of this knowledge they can find. So who is going to tell them they might be living next door to a violent sex offender? And why are these websites such as the one I have listed above not plastered all around town so that the community is aware they have the ability and the right to know how to keep their children safe? Well I plan to change that, I have been making flyer's to help people out, I am only one person so if you all made flyer's and passed them around your town you would be helping parents become aware of their neighbors and protecting their most priceless assets, their children. We all have the right to know our surroundings, and share with our children the danger zones.

If you would like to learn more facts about the sexual abuse in America, click on the following links. After I have spent many hours studding about this I have to be honest and say that it terrifies me to the extreme. But I have become more aware and therefore that makes my family that much safer. The world will always have crime, drugs,murderers and sex predators amongst other bad things, that we can not change, but we can stand up for our rights as parents, teachers, daycare providers, grandparents, and community and help others understand that this is a problem. Know who you share a yard with, don't send your child next door for eggs as I did thinking that the quiet man next door is a friendly neighbor with a kind smile.

I would like to make clear that the information that you are able to access online should never be used to harm, harass, or be used as an excuse to threaten any person. Awareness is your best defense.

Tips to stay safe

Parents

• Always know where your children are.
• Put your children's emergency identification (name, address, phone number) on their clothes.
• Teach your children your home phone number and to how call 911 if there is an emergency.
• Agree on a specific time when children must return home.
• Contact law enforcement authorities immediately if there is any suspicious or unlawful activity.

Children

• Always tell your parents where you are going.
• Never enter any home without getting your parent's permission first.
• Never get into any vehicle, unless your parents know and have said it's OK.
• Always wear reflective clothing at night.
• Never approach any house that is not well lit.
• Remember anything weird that an adult says or does to you and tell your parents immediately.
• Run away from people who offer you candy or other treats or want you to help look for their puppy or kitten.
• Scream, run and fight if anyone tries to grab you or make you to go with them.
• Don't play in areas that you are unfamiliar with.
• Stay on well-lit streets and always use the sidewalk. If there is no sidewalk, always walk facing traffic.

Sources:
http://www12.familywatchdog.us/
http://familywatchdog.us/OffenderCountByState.asp