Just recently my sister received a notice from the New Rochelle police department notifying her and all other tenants of the sex offenders located around the vicinity. When going through the list, we were shocked to find that one of those listed was one of my sister’s former classmates. I was even more shocked to discover that the person on the top of the list convicted with the most deviant crime was a man who lived literally two doors down from my house. I was outraged. We never received any letter from the police department.
Later, I told my friend and neighbor about the letter to see if she had received one or even heard about the situation. She said that the man had been living there for a year now and that she only found out from one of the residents in the apartment building across the street. I was appalled. I could not believe that the residential homes were never given notification. Many of these homes that have young women and children were never warned of the potential danger around them.
When looking to buy a home many people check to see if the neighborhood is safe especially those who have children. It’s scary to think who lives around you. There are many websites that allow you to search the registered sex offenders in your area. The suburbs are a place where people raise families. They are supposed to be safe, but how safe are they if residents are not notified about potential harm?
“People are always scared to go out into the city fearing that they’re going to be violated in some form, but honestly I’m more afraid to walk the streets of New Rochelle, the town that I grew up in at 9:00pm at night, than in the city at 1:00am wasted as a college kid,” said Teena Kurian New Rochelle resident and Cooper Union Alum.
That is scary and very thought provoking! Working with children myself, I find that sometimes if someone is too friendly with them, I become a little paranoid. I can’t imagine what I would feel like learning that a sex offender was living practically next door!
The law requiring sex offenders to register is incomplete when residential areas are not given adequate access to the list. And families who have little or no access to the internet are not sufficiently armed with the information necessary to protect their families from these predators. A list should be centrally posted and families should be notified of its location so people are not blind sided in the future.
I can’t imagine being a parent who is raising a child and living a couple of feet away from a sex offender. But the fact that I might not be notified that there is a sex offender living next door before I move in, is even worse. Checking out the neighborhood for sexual predators should be on the top of every parents list of thing to do before they move into any neighborhood, no matter the reputation of that community.
It seems Brooklyn has recently become a hotspot for sex offenders. I guess sometimes bigger fences make for better neighbors.
I was shocked to find so many sex offenders live so close to me. And in my neighborhood there are three nearby schools with sex offenders living or working practically next door to them.
what a great story. and the link you attached was very useful. i always wanted to look at the sex offenders in my own neighborhood, and that was the first thing i did after reading this post.
I remember going to this link after watching a episode of the Oprah show. I was so shocked to see how many sex offenders are in my neighborhood. The majority of them were in a 3-4 block radius from the local public school. I guess you don’t know who your neighbors are.
It was very startling to discover how many sex offenders there are out there! This was a very good idea to make this website listing their locations.
This is all very scary especially since these people do not walk around with a tag identifying themselves. Were there any preventative measures suggested by the police and other organizations?
I believe in rehabilitation but with the safety and well-being of children involved, these predators should not be allowed to live among everyday people-familys, near schools, churches, etc. These sexual predators are sick and a few months or years in prison will not cure them of what ails them. I am disgusted that they are released back into society where unsuspecting children are now endangered. Something must be done about this! Voluntary or required registration does not stop repeat offenders!