August 25, 2007

See All Sex Offenders In Your Neighborhood

Duncan Riley

81 comments »

Vision 20/20 offers a free web based mashup of sex offender data and Windows Live Maps.

Users simply add their address, city and/ or zip code to the Vision 20/20 site, and then the locations of sex offenders in the immediate vicinity are displayed over a map. Clicking on each sex offender leads to a profile which includes the name, address, and crimes of the sex offender, as well as a mug shot.

It does seem like a rather logical use for a maps mashup, and it functions well. According to Vision 20/20’s publicity there is 650,000 registered sex offenders in the United States, now everyone can find out where they live.

Sphere It

This entry was posted on Saturday, August 25th, 2007 at 8:09 pm and is filed under Company & Product Profiles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

Trackbacks/Pings (Trackback URL)

meneame.net

August 26th, 2007 at 2:18 am

pligg.com

August 26th, 2007 at 7:16 am

我挖网(digbuzz.com)

August 26th, 2007 at 8:44 am

Buzzing Bees

August 26th, 2007 at 10:03 am

Sotto l'ombra degli olmi

August 26th, 2007 at 2:38 pm

nice

August 30th, 2007 at 3:50 pm

A Fresh Start (up) » Blog Archive » A little bit more about my "soon-to-come" expatriation

August 31st, 2007 at 11:42 am

poker live turnier spielen

April 30th, 2008 at 10:07 am

texas holdem gratis spielen

April 30th, 2008 at 1:23 pm

ganar ruleta electronica

April 30th, 2008 at 11:30 pm

poker texas kostenlos spielen

May 4th, 2008 at 7:59 am

Comments

RSS feed for comments on this post.

Lisa

August 25th, 2007 at 8:18 pm

Thanks for the link. My state has a sex offender website, but it’s not nearly as useful.
Connor Wilson

August 25th, 2007 at 8:18 pm

Cool idea, and the functionality is all there, but…

I don’t need this to tell me that this guy is a sex offender: http://locator.thevision2020.c.....882130.jpg
jaike

August 25th, 2007 at 8:20 pm

Hes smiling at least lol
KingJacob

August 25th, 2007 at 8:24 pm

Im scared to look at my address but it is nice to see mashups with maps that arent made by google.
jordon

August 25th, 2007 at 8:26 pm

Thanks for the link–paranoia’s just a mashup away!
ihero

August 25th, 2007 at 8:40 pm

Not sure how these folks are going to make money — especially since my state duplicates the effort.

Another way to get the word out though — and you can’t have too much of that — in this case.

the little mustaches are a nice touch for the bad folks.
Allen Stern

August 25th, 2007 at 8:44 pm

This should easily be acquired by the govt. very well done.
Chris

August 25th, 2007 at 8:46 pm

Doesn’t appear to work in Mac OS X/Safari. All kinds of errors when trying to use the locator. It might work if it used google maps instead of Microsoft’s crappy system.
Chris

August 25th, 2007 at 8:49 pm

OK, it works in Firefox on Mac OS X. Happily, no offenders located within the 20 mile radius allowed.

I still like Google maps better. It’s far more intuitive and natural.
Chris

August 25th, 2007 at 8:54 pm

Yikes, there are 12 offenders within a 5-mile radius of where my young adolescent son lives
Nameless

August 25th, 2007 at 8:55 pm

“I still like Google maps better. It’s far more intuitive and natural.”

Thats a complete troll. They are virtually identical. Its a MAP.
lawrence

August 25th, 2007 at 9:03 pm

i didn’t realize there were so many, after typing in my address.

11 offenders within a mile radius!
they should be dragged out of their homes and beaten to a pulp.

this site is a real eye-opener - disgusting, to say the least
Jeremy Steele

August 25th, 2007 at 9:04 pm

There’s one living down the road. That’s comforting.
منتديات

August 25th, 2007 at 9:26 pm

thanks for link
but as Nameless say i think google map better than it
geomark

August 25th, 2007 at 9:36 pm

If they are truly guilty I’ll be first in line to dish out the beating. But I wouldn’t be so quick to call them out. You’re assuming they are really guilty. Do you know anyone who got screwed because his wife was trying to gain leverage in a divorce proceeding? There are lots of those cases. I know one guy. He was convicted based only on the testimony of his estranged wife who was about to lose custody of the kids in the divorce. You don’t know the evils of the courts or Child Protection Services until you’ve seen it happen to someone.
geomark

August 25th, 2007 at 9:37 pm

Ok, that was off topic. The mashup is kinda cool from the technical point of view.
Aaron B. Hockley

August 25th, 2007 at 9:50 pm

I wonder about the timeliness and reliability of this data coming from a third-party provider. Since all local governments in the states around me offer a similar service, it seems to me that going straight to the source would make more sense.
Andrew

August 25th, 2007 at 9:56 pm

monetizing is easy: allow parents to buy premium accounts with a monthly fee which will notify them by email whenever a new sex offender is added in their area.

With all parents scared shitless by the media, this would be an easy million dollar a month idea
Andrew

August 25th, 2007 at 9:56 pm

and advertising is easy, just take out ads in magazines that target mothers
Alex Telthorst

August 25th, 2007 at 9:58 pm

This was done several years ago with Google maps by a guy on a whim ( I think he knocked it together over the course of an evening. After some discussion with the community at large he removed the service. The discussion surrounding his reason to remove what many viewed as a valuable resource is worth reading and can be found at this link:

http://www.naffis.com/somapper/

It’s thoughtful reading material…
Zoli Erdos

August 25th, 2007 at 10:06 pm

What’s wrong with all these people? I’m shocked to see so many child molesters in what I thought to be a peaceful small town
Anand Sankaran

August 25th, 2007 at 10:16 pm

Holy shit. I have a sex offender next street :((. I have two young daughters. I think I just lost my sleep.
Andrew

August 25th, 2007 at 10:17 pm

@21 actually those would be prime targets…think about it…everyone trusts everyone. Parents are working to afford the house. Kids are dropped off miles away from their house and walk home alone.
Fabian Schonholz

August 25th, 2007 at 10:28 pm

This is not the first one. My wife showed me one the other day - she will try to send me the link so I can post it. Also when I just asked her, she also mentioned that there are a bunch with the same map functionality.
Fabian Schonholz

August 25th, 2007 at 10:35 pm

http://www.familywatchdog.us - this is the one my wife showed me. Also, it has more complete data although it is not as pretty
Tcruncher2

August 25th, 2007 at 11:43 pm

Im not sure I entirely agree with this. While I can understand that many ppl want to know this information, it opens all these fellons to victimization which is not entirely right.

While there is a % chance that they will reoffend again, it still begs the question whether knowing this information will help stop these people ? All its going to do is get people to commit hate crimes against these guys which is unfair if they have done nothing wrong (and is unfair even if they have, but thats life)

So I’m not sure this website is entirely ethical.

My 2 cents….
Chris Kross

August 25th, 2007 at 11:48 pm

Tcruncher2 clearly doesn’t have kids, nor has he heard of Megan’s law. which, btw, has had this information on their site for a few years before vision 20/20 came along.
Jay

August 26th, 2007 at 12:31 am

I wonder if Uncle Pete is on here.
Andy

August 26th, 2007 at 4:14 am

Posting from outside the US, I find this rather disturbing. If someone’s committed a crime and served their time, can they not have the opportunity to be rehabilitated into society rather than ostracised in this manner? If they re-offend, then throw the book at them. But if they’re making a real effort to build up a normal life, then why jeopardise that by posting their details and photos for all to see on some map mashup?

Personally, I don’t care if I’m living next door to a serial killer. If my government’s decided it’s safe for them to be out and about in the community, that’s good enough for me. I’d be more concerned to be living next to the sort of person who’d use this website to find people to victimise…
Rob Walters

August 26th, 2007 at 4:27 am

I tried to buy the tracking system for my kids and dog and all the links are dead.

Cool site though.
Richard

August 26th, 2007 at 6:04 am

Something’s not right with the data they get from the Seattle area. Only two offenders within a 20mi radius of Mercer Island?

Which brings up the real issue with sites like these: yeah, cool graphics and map mashups make it easy to read, but unless they have 100% coverage (especially in YOUR neighborhood), it’s at best useless and at worst dangerous if it gives you a false sense of security.
UHF

August 26th, 2007 at 6:32 am

Judging from the picture, Sir Les Patterson is alive and well in San Francisco! Keep a good look out for rustling shrubs near your kids school!
chris

August 26th, 2007 at 7:51 am

this sick. isn’t the law supposed to keep an eye on it? not you.
when ur done with the usual blah blah (i want to save my kids…),
use ur brain!
besides giving you a total false sense of (in)security, you also
do vigilante justice. and vigilante justice makes you no better.
Dominic

August 26th, 2007 at 8:52 am

I think I am going to launch what will surely be a massive Web 2.o success story for the ages. Maybe launch a site that list the names of anyone who bounced a check in the past 2 years or were late for their mortgage payment , credit card bills, telephone bill. I will add ral value to it by adding a list of all automobile reposessions nation wide. Next will be to list everyone who has had a traffic ticket in the past year. Oh yeah, how about a list on people I know who tried to hook up on line when they’re married or have a b/f or g/f. Hmm, maybe a list of teachers in public schools who drink or do a little weed from time to time. Or even better, I put the names of a couple of TC posters on this Blog who are on Megans List, or Bloggers who try to hook up with people who post comments on their blog. Damn, come to think of if, I could become King of America with this; nooooooooo, wait, I could actually become GOD ALMIGHTY. Damn, this sounds good. This way anyone listed on the site can’t live a normal life………ever. Face it folks, this Web20. is worse than BIG BROTHER can ever be. What a sick f*cking country we live in.
fangsang

August 26th, 2007 at 8:58 am

it’s very cool.
KC

August 26th, 2007 at 9:29 am

Hey! You can see my house from here. Uh oh…
wlrock

August 26th, 2007 at 9:59 am

I find it interesting that a post about a company offering a service (and the relative morality of that service) actually has people commenting on the use of the map system! I haven’t seen a single comment on what web server, database or programming language was used. I guess it’s just a sign of the times - anything that pits Microsoft and Google (and their fanboyz) against each other must be highlighted. Well - to that end, here’s to the “crappy Microsoft system” and the responder who said it’s “nice to see a mashup not using Google Maps”!

http://www.pcworld.com/zoom?id.....zoomIdx=4#
Emile Bourquin

August 26th, 2007 at 10:08 am

Sexist icons. I searched my neighborhood, and even though 4 of the 20 found were female, each was indicated by the same mustache and beanie wearing icon. Especially shameful since the sex of the offender is available in the data.
Emile Bourquin

August 26th, 2007 at 10:12 am

Update to above, I should specify by neighborhood, I meant “town”, and it brought up a 25 square mile image. My neighborhood isn’t that bad! Also, only one was female, but still, same male icon.
Charles Whaley

August 26th, 2007 at 10:24 am

Terrific! now let’s apply the same technology to other “offensive” groups…

nose-pickers in the neighbourhood, people who haven’t paid their parking tickets, fundamentalist Christians with their heads up their asses, politicians with IQs lower than room temperature (oops.. that’s all of them and I’m measuring in Celsius!), owners of gas-guzzling SUVs, people who actually voted for George Bush, etc etc.

I’m sure the KKK could use a “niggers within nine miles” map.

Witch-hunters of the world, you now have the technology you need!!!!!!!!!
bunni

August 26th, 2007 at 10:44 am

Why on earth are all of the sex offender avatars Mexican? (Yes, I’m Mexican. No, I don’t have a chip on my shoulder.)
Ron Barkley

August 26th, 2007 at 10:51 am

I’m gonna hunt down a few of my neighbors. Anything to keep my boo-boo safe!
Eric Marcoullier

August 26th, 2007 at 11:07 am

Patently offensive. At least they list the offender’s crimes, so that people in the registry for public urination can get at least somewhat of a fair shake. Of course, teens convicted of sex with another minor are fubared, because it will just show up as sex with a minor.

Next up, let’s put a mashup with the addresses of doctors who perform abortions. And after that, let’s tie in the government’s database of dangerous brown people who might be trying to harm us. If we could just get a copy of the “no fly” list, we’d be set. Cuz everyone knows that federal data is accurate.
Nicole Simon

August 26th, 2007 at 11:27 am

A mashup like this - as you choose not to go into details of technology - reported just for the use of “now you can see …”

Duncan, I am surprised to see that comment of yours as “now everybody can see where they live” - at least add to this the information for the international user what sex offender means in the states.

Which can be anything from urinating in public or flashing your boobs up to real serious stuff.

If at all this belongs in the category of dangerous in the false hand reports, because information which needs to be interpreted (sic) gets into an easy format. This mashup is boulevard style and simplifying - not for a society I want to live in.

(Not that I really think I want to live in the states anyhow, but that is a different issue)
Slick Rick

August 26th, 2007 at 11:45 am

This information has been publically available for years. I think even the state of california’s website has it.

People who do sex crimes against minors are the lowest of the low. Why do u think they try to conceal their crimes in prison to avoid getting the crap kicked out of them? Even murderers think these guys are despicable. Anyone who tries to compare these people to nose pickers is just plain stupid. If you don’t want your face and address shown on a site like this, think twice about fondling your 10-year-old neighbor next time.

Sure there may be a few dolphins caught in the tuna net on the site, but overall a good public service is being done here.
Simon

August 26th, 2007 at 12:41 pm

Actually I doubt that a “service” like this would be legal in Germany. Hopefully. And: I completely agree with Nicole Simon.
Hooray, witch hunts!

August 26th, 2007 at 12:42 pm

This thread is a pretty good indication of the hysteria that attaches itself to the term “sex offender.” Just consider the numbers. 650,000 registered sex offenders? Does anyone really believe that the proportion of “child molesters” in the U.S. adult population could be so high? Someone else on the thread reports that 4 of the 20 “sex offenders” in his neighborhood are female. Again, do people really suppose that 20% of child molesters are women?

Of course not. The reason these numbers are so goofy is that the legal status of sex offender is widely overapplied. By far the most egregious abuse of the term is when minors are tagged with the label for having sex with other minors. That’s right, 17-year-olds who have sex with other 17-year-olds can wind up in this “child molester” database.

So, yes, this gross violation of privacy is basically due to yahoos like Slick Rick spinning paranoid fantasies about “fondling your 10-year-old neighbor.” It’s a shame it’s being promoted here.
Yezidi

August 26th, 2007 at 1:21 pm

And we can’t find Osama?
Ben Werdmuller

August 26th, 2007 at 1:32 pm

Why are all the sex offenders members of the Village People?

Also, while these are some very unpleasant people who, if I had children, would leave me lying awake at night, I completely agree with the posters above who raise ethical issues. What’s interesting is the apparent split between US residents and non-US residents in the opinions raised; this isn’t the place for political commentary, but I’m not sure Megan’s Law would have fared very well in many other places.
Roland Schryer

August 26th, 2007 at 1:47 pm

I was working at a college, and a young man was a registered sex affender. W hen the public found out of his STATIS HE, WAS HARRASSED AND HAD TO LEAVE SCHOOL. He had sex with a girl less than two years younger and her parents freaked out, causing this unfair situation and legal problem for him. the gerneral public only knew of the offense and not the cercomstance. I knew him and met his family and was vary up set that this young man has to go thu this incounter and register as a offender for normsl sex with his then girl friend. They were both monors and parents should not be able to do this to other peoples children.

The information was leaked through the regisration at the sherrif department, the spouse work at the college and the information was spread. posters and flyedr were put up annoucing sex affender in your classes an dormatory. A few people knew the truth and were simpathetic to all this but the gossip and wild fire distorded the young mans education, and he left because, of all the termoil, this was four years later.

This was a shame and should close the file on minor offense. real sex offeses should follow the people who comitt them. normal sex as among cosenting teenagers, should not be included as sex offense.
Amit Deshpande

August 26th, 2007 at 2:53 pm

Thanks for the link. The application can be very useful if one is planning to move to a new city and a completely new locality with his family and kids.
Michael Vu

August 26th, 2007 at 4:01 pm

It’s going to be interesting to see how close some people are…Good site, I hope it gets the exposure that it needs.
AjaxJones

August 26th, 2007 at 4:11 pm

depends if you believe the recidivism rates http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_offender as to whether or not it’s a service

Also you can’t compare crimes and Hooray can complain about witch hunts as long as they like, I don’t care as long as my children aren’t playing outside a paedo’s house who may or may not have a 13% chance of reoffending.
Vincent Flanders

August 26th, 2007 at 4:23 pm

There is a much bigger problem. The information seems to be inaccurate. See http://www.webpagesthatsuck.co.....html#a1850

On a site like this, all information must be 100% correct.
Jimi

August 26th, 2007 at 4:30 pm

As a european citizen, I though US justice was fair, but helping people beeing publicly humiliated is obviously wrong. Justice is not revenge, making people suffer is not the goal of justice, it is bad and pointless. Justice is puting the guy in jail as long as he does not deserve to live in the comunity, to protect people. That’s all.

If i had to find a reason of your “Thought Police” comments, i think it is about obvious failure of jail purpose. Even in europe this is a problem. Most of the criminals do become more criminal if you make them go in jail, because jail is more a “school for criminals” than a place to learn how to live in a comunity.

This is the problem we have to face, and publicly humiliating so much people wo are just victims for at least 50% of the cases, well, it’s sick, and pointless.
till

August 26th, 2007 at 9:18 pm

This is by far the sickest mashup I have ever seen.

Unbelievable that in stupid-ass-political-correct-country United States of Awareness you can get away with such databases. But wait, I forgot - you guys opted out of privacy and freedom of speech to counter terrorism.

Generally, yeah, I see the usefullness for the über-paranoid - then again if you read up on the data collection and see under which circumstances some people are in there it’s just wrong.
Bottlerocket

August 26th, 2007 at 9:27 pm

This has 1984 written all over it. As we progress towards an Orwellian police state, such applications will come handy in implementing the future surviellance society. Spock is another example of such invasive technologies. Keep an eye out for your liberties. We are losing them at a very fast pace.
Offended Citizen

August 27th, 2007 at 5:27 am

I think it’s an amazing and really good idea. Maybe they will extend it to also show if they are bums around my suburb so I can avoid them.

Even further, we can imagine a more generic version of the website who can show around your place every gays, non-Christians, and kids in difficulty. So I can protect myself even more and to have this humongous feeling to live nicely in my own and tiny closed world.

There is a better way for technology in our society. it’s not this one.
HugoMe

August 27th, 2007 at 11:44 am

Anyone that would promote this kind of website in Europe would instantly be labelled a extreme-right fascist.
Seems that USA has still a lot to learn about civil liberties.
HugoMe

August 27th, 2007 at 11:48 am

And by the way, could you also provide me with a database with anyone who is in possesssion of a gun, so that i try to avoid being killed by a drunk neighbour?

Thanks
alastair

August 27th, 2007 at 1:40 pm

To all those Europeans who imagine that this couldn’t happen anywhere else except in the USA, there have been reported campaigns in some of the British newspapers for exactly this sort of thing. Yes, so far the politicians, amazingly, have resisted the temptation but there are still a large number of people in the UK who would support this.

I agree with those who express concern at what constitutes a sex offender especially if the bit about urinating in public is true.
concerned mom

August 27th, 2007 at 2:16 pm

Not only is this site ugly, it’s wrong. I looked at the California’s Megans Law site and at familywatchdog.us, and both of them were more correct in the number of sex predators around me.

And wrong is dangerous. This site is missing my next door neighbor who is a registered freak and has tried to get my son to come into his house on several occasions. I first found out he is a child molester a year ago using familywatchdog.us. I use familywatchdog.us to keep track of my neighborhood and the state site to verify it.

I would recommend everyone avoid this site like the plague. If you are going to review something that can be the difference between life and death that you at least make sure it’s right before you promote it.
PervPatrol.com

August 28th, 2007 at 9:56 pm

Nicely done. There are a few good free sites all of whom update on different schedules. Best to look at more than one for a complete view of local safety.
informed

August 29th, 2007 at 12:20 pm

Where is the site for the millions of unreported molestations committed every day by the very people who scream the loudest about sex offenders?

Its not the perv behind the bush you have to fear, its Mommy and Daddy and Uncle Pete.

Parents who are not molesting their kids who rely on the government to protect their children should be automatically charged with neglect. Who in their right mind would trust the US or ANY state government with the safety of our kids? Parents, the government has already told you that you are not to be trusted to keep your kids safe… age limits on drinking, sex, driving, smoking and a host of other age-related laws prove that parents in the US have lost their ability to properly raise their kids and the government has to step in.

Its only logical that more sites and lists are coming. Some states already have them for other criminals. With over 31 million released felons in the US and that number growing by thousands each day, sites like this will be a way to make millions off of irrational American fear.

Parents will be burning down and beating a registered sex offender 2 blocks over while Aunt Patty is babysitting their kids and fondling them in the bathtub.

It is sites like this and vigilantes that will get Megan’s Law and the Wetterling Act repealed. The first time a child of a sex offender is murdered by a vigilante then we will see that we are endangering the very children we claim to protect. Wait, maybe the kids of sex offenders are not good kids and its ok to kill them? We only need to protect the good kids, those whose parents havent been caught yet?

Maybe these sites are run by convicted offenders who have found a way to profit from the very fear that was created by the hype of their crimes. Some local pig pens are spending 50-70% of their budget to monitor offenders who contribute to less than 1% of the crime, because they have already been convicted and punished! So we spend tons of money to monitor a group of people who for the most sake obey the law, HAHAHA. Gotta love America.
Lee

August 29th, 2007 at 4:10 pm

I work in law enforcement in California (I update our agency’s sex offender addresses in our state’s database). Some of the addresses on the Vision 20/20 website are two months old, i.e. California’s Megan’s Law website shows the registrant’s current address, but the Vision 20/20 website shows an old address. The ONLY current, accurate information on registered sex offenders can be found on a state’s official, government website.
PervPatrol.com

September 1st, 2007 at 7:58 am

Nice work.
Steve Belagio

September 4th, 2007 at 11:34 am

Im not sure if everyone has had the chance but I went and looked through the rest of this companyies services. Besides the offender locator that will update you if an offender moves into your neighborhood to keep you updated, I found some particular interesting ideas they have. They have an alert system like a personal assistant attached to every major government agency that has information that can be sent out to the public in time of need. So you will always be updated in event of an emergency. They also have a cool gps device that is hooked up to some awesome software if you check out the video on http://www.thevision2020blog.com you can see it. I gather since this is a beta stage for their software and products we will see some great things to come from Vision 20/20.
Jerry

September 4th, 2007 at 11:58 am

Thanks for the link! This site has one of the best mash-ups I have ever seen, and it even states on their site that this Locator is still in BETA, which means that it will probably look even better when it hits the production stage. Some of the comments above referring to the fact that the information is not as up-to-date as the other registries is not completely true as I checked my area and found that it was identical to the State Database. Then I checked that familywatchdog site that was mentioned above and there were several differences. So I’m a little curious as to who is leaving those comments on here. I would recommend only cross-checking with your state registry as I am sure there are holes somewhere in the system.

I also noticed some other peace-of-mind products on their website (I believe that is what P.O.M. stands for, i.e. POM Alert and POM GPS. http://www.thevision2020.com). It looks like these guys are doing more than just informing people about the growing problem of Sex Offenders in the US but actually integrating some other peace-of-mind products together…..

Overall……….I love the fact that someone out there is trying to find a solution to this problem or at least give us a tool to allow us to be AWARE!
renee

September 13th, 2007 at 2:30 pm

just tryin to see so site
Bill

September 18th, 2007 at 11:09 pm

As a sex offender I have to say I find this a real bore. Don’t you people realise that around every corner, perhaps right next to you lives a drunk, a wife beater, a man beater, a fraudster, a rapist, - the list goes on.

These people need help, they need to be able to feel part of a community. If you are worried about someone stop being so insular, reach out, help.