Sex-offender info now on Facebook

Local News

Discussion

PLEASE NOTE: There is a 150 word maximum for comments. All comments greater than 150 words in length will be deleted in their entirety.

ALSO NOTE: Derisive name-calling of an individual or group will result in the entire comment being deleted. This includes the terms "stupid" and "idiot" and similar references.

Welcome to our new online comments feature. Before you can join the discussion, you must first register with Disqus and verify your email address.

Once you do, your comments will post after they have been reviewed by a moderator.

We welcome your thoughts and your opinions, including unpopular ones. We ask only that you keep the conversation civil and clean.

Not all comments are deemed printable. Some are disqualified, at the newspaper’s discretion, for a number of reasons. Here are some typical practices to avoid in trying to get your comment printed:

There is a 150 word maximum for comments. All comments greater than 150 words in length will be deleted in their entirety.

Don’t state as a fact something that is unsubstantiated or that our editors wouldn't know to be true.

Don’t presume someone’s guilt in a case when it hasn't been established by a court.

Don’t assail or impugn an identifiable individual or group. If you have that kind of criticism, sign your name and submit it as a Letter to the Editor. (There is some leeway on this in connection with public officials, but it is not unconditional.)

Don’t use profanity. This includes the term “tea bagger.”

Don’t be incendiary or tasteless. Those qualities are subjective, of course, and our editors will be the arbiters.

Do not identify yourself in the main content area of the article content form. Only by enforcing this rule can the moderators prevent unscrupulous commenters from falsely identifying themselves as someone they are not.

Don't type in all caps. It is considered the Internet equivalent of shouting.

In sports articles, do not criticize officiating.

Remember, moderators are not allowed to edit any article comments. If an article comment fails any of the above criteria, the entire comment will be deleted.

We monitor comments Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Approval of comments outside these times may be delayed.

comments powered by Disqus

October 23, 2011

Anonymous Press-Republican The Press Republican Sun Oct 23, 2011, 02:48 PM EDT

ALBANY — Users of Facebook can now get information about sex offenders living in their neighborhoods

Facebook users can access information about medium- and high-risk sex offenders with just a few clicks — and without leaving the social-networking site.

The New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services has launched its Sex Offender Locator Application, which is accessible via the New York State Public Safety Facebook page: facebook.com/nyspublicsafety.

The Division of Criminal Justice maintains the state's sex-offender registry and a registry subdirectory on the website criminaljustice.ny.gov/nsor that provides information about Level 2 (medium risk) and Level 3 (high risk) sex offenders. The new Facebook application is designed to make that information more readily accessible.

"New Yorkers now have another way to access up-to-date information about sex offenders in their neighborhoods," Division of Criminal Justice Acting Commissioner Sean M. Byrne said in a news release.

"With Halloween around the corner, parents now have another tool to learn where offenders live so they can ensure their children stay away from those locations, as well as strangers' homes. The Facebook app puts that important information at parents' fingertips, whether they are at home or on the go."

In all, 32,994 registered sex offenders are listed on the state's Sex Offender Registry: 12,473 Level 1 offenders; 11,685 Level 2 offenders; 8,163 Level 3 offenders; and 673 offenders whose risk level is pending.

An offender's risk level determines what information is available and how it can be accessed.

By law, the state can only provide information about Level 1 (low risk) offenders or those with a pending risk level through a toll-free number: 1-800-262-3257.

Callers must have an individual's name and at least one other identifier (an exact address, date of birth, driver's license number or Social Security number) to learn if that person is a registered sex offender in New York.

Home-address information about a Level 1 offender is limited to zip code. Complete home and work addresses are available for Level 2 and Level 3 offenders.

The state allows New Yorkers to sign up to receive alerts via email, text, fax or telephone whenever those sex offenders move to, or from, a community of interest — their home, work or child's school, for example. That is offered through the state's NY-ALERT system; visit nyalert.gov and click on the Sign up for NY-Alerts link in the left menu to learn more and register.