This year marked the 10th anniversary of Megan’s Law in New York State, which dramatically enhanced public access to information concerning the whereabouts of convicted sexual predators.
At the same time, hundreds of registered sex offenders were poised to drop off the registry because their 10 year requirement was up. To prevent this, Senator Maltese fought to ensure that the Sex Offender Registry requirement under Megan’s Law was enhanced by making Level 2 & 3 offenders register for life and Level 1 offenders for 20 years.
In addition, Senator Maltese ensured that the scope of Megan’s Law was expanded by requiring that all Level 2 sex offenders, in addition to Level 3 offenders, be listed on the Registry’s website.
This will allow New Yorkers to find out if any high or moderate risk sex offenders live in their neighborhood by simply doing a search on the Registry’s website.
There are currently over 31,000 convicted sex offenders listed on the State’s Sex Offender Registry. Parents, teachers, grandparents and caregivers should have the ability to know if a sex offender is living near their children so they can take the necessary precautions to protect them.
To access the registry, click here: http://www.criminaljustice.state.ny.us/nsor/search_index.htm.You will be required to enter your name and address and then you will be able to search the directory by last name, county or zip code.
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