San Bernardino Sheriff Announces New Way To Track Sex Offenders

SAN BERNARDINO – Authorities with the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department demonstrated how their residents can use the “Offender Watch” program. They say the website is a faster way to track sex offenders. It takes 7 to 10 days to update the Megan’s law website, not the case for offender watch.

“When an officer comes into register and the registration clerk enters in his information and clicks submit that info is completely accurate,” says Jim Black, Program Coordinator for the Crimes against Children Unit of the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.

Residents can enter in an address and the site will show a list of sexual offenders within a two mile radius. Nationwide 80 percent of addresses have at least one sex offender within a mile. More than half of sexual assaults happen within a mile of the victims home.

Resident’s can sign up for email alerts warning when an offender moves within their home and track specific offenders. It also shows offenders who aren’t complying with the Department of Justice requirement. The sheriff’s department wants people to call them if they find out of compliance sex offenders in their neighborhood.

“He maybe out of compliance and may have a warrant for his arrest so if someone calls us we can then … We can go arrest him an make sure he’s back in compliance,” says Black.

The nationwide program is in nearly a thousand law enforcement agencies, 30 in California. Desert Hot Springs started using the same program earlier this year. No word if any other city in Riverside County is using the program. The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department expects every police department in the county to be on the site within the next 6 months. And they say tracking down potentially dangerous is a work in progress.

“Technology is really a key component of the effort to protect children and families against potential predators,” say Brad Mitzelfelt, First District Supervisor.