Sex Offender Registry Mapping (SORM) Websites

Are sex offender registry mapping (SORM) websites really another form of a vigilante act masked as a legal activity? After all, vigilante actions are the result of a group or a individuals perception of what the law should be, not the result of the law as enacted! In fact, there are no laws directly addressing SORM type websites, SORMs are kinda like a loose cannon doing whatever they want, ignoring laws protecting registrants, and that they are harming folks and families too. Public "warning messages" although not much, may thwart some from vigilantism which is occurring today more than folks realize.

Our recent review of sex offender registry mapping (SORM) websites (ex: Family WatchDog and similar others) has revealed disturbing facts, each of the items below was found to be true of one or more of the mapping websites:

1) State legislatures or local police have not approved them for use, yet we have seen state registry websites show links to them. Accordingly, there is an implied certification created by the linking, either by the state -or- by the mapping site;

2) None of the SORMs carry forward and display the respective state "Public Warning Message" prohibiting harassment, or other acts against registrants -or- the "Correction Method" if the offender's information is incorrect. Further, SORMs do not prohibit printing of registrant information without a public warning and correction message (which is possible);

As states enact their individual versions of the Adam Walsh Act, it contains special requirements with respect to PUBLIC WARNING messages and CORRECTION methods:

Sec 118(f) Warning- The site shall include a warning that information on the site should not be used to unlawfully injure, harass, or commit a crime against any individual named in the registry or residing or working at any reported address. The warning shall note that any such action could result in civil or criminal penalties.

Sec 118(e) Correction of Errors- The site shall include instructions on how to seek correction of information that an individual contends is erroneous.

Is there a way to correct erroneous information displayed on an address mapping website? There should be because SORMs do not update their information with the same frequency as does the state registries. In fact, SORMs never tell folks how up to date their information is. Do you see a date of last update for each individual registrant's record?



3) Many of the state registries have Security Entry Agreements (SEA) or technically known as CAPTCHAs (See Wikipedia good explanation) to prevent AUTOMATED COMPUTERIZED ACCESS to their data, do you recognize this:
SORMs have ignored the CAPTCHAs and bypassed them to gain access to the registrant's information. In most states, bypassing computer security measures, is a crime, SORMs are not prosecuted for that crime;

Example: Arkansas Registry: You must agree before they allow you into the registry.
Example: Utah Law 77-27-21.5(24) The department shall construct the website so that users, before accessing registry information, must indicate that they have read the disclaimer, understand it, and agree to comply with its terms.

4) Several of the states have limits on the use of their registry information and the state registry explains those limits, but SORMs simply ignore limiting information, and they do not print such information on the screen for registrants searched for;

Example: California 290.46(l) (1) A person is authorized to use information disclosed pursuant to this section only to protect a person at risk. (2) Except as authorized under paragraph (1) or any other provision of law, use of any information that is disclosed pursuant to this section for purposes relating to any of the following is prohibited: (A) Health insurance. (B) Insurance. (C) Loans. (D) Credit. (E) Employment. (F) Education, scholarships, or fellowships. (G) Housing or accommodations. (H) Benefits, privileges, or services provided by any business establishment.

Question, with respect to California, given that registry information is only permitted to be used "only to protect a person at risk," do SORMs restrict entry for other purposes?

5) SORMs that use Google Maps are likely violating the Google Maps' "Terms of Service/Use" agreement, in that, Google limits maps to -personal use- and are not for commercial purposes except under API Terms. Google also prohibits advertising other than its own which some of these sites do;

Terms of Service for Google Maps
By using Google Maps and any data or information accessed from Google Maps, you agree to be bound by our Google Terms of Service as well as these additional terms and conditions. For individual users, Google Maps, including local search results, maps, and photographic imagery, is made available for your personal, non-commercial use only. For business users, Google Maps is made available for your internal use only and may not be commercially redistributed, except that map data may be accessed and displayed by using the Google Maps API pursuant to the API terms and conditions.

6) Excepting very special circumstances states are not liable for damages caused by the registry, however, such immunity does not flow to third parties who disseminate registry information. A few states allude to this warning in their disclaimers.

7) So far, with the exception of one, SORMs fail to have, or have very limited, "terms of use" -or- "Privacy" statements pertaining to the SORM site. Such fails to disclose relevant information about the person/s that have created the SORM sites and how they were created, and fail to indicate their accuracy or how to report corrections when information is found to be incorrect. Further, most SORMs fail to inform users whether they collect information from users and how that information may be used (Privacy Question);

8) As to SORM sites with distance measurements: i) They fail to explain where the measurement begins (residence door [front side back], curb, middle of street, or assessor's property line) and likewise where the measurement ends; ii) They fail to indicate when distances cannot be measured (irregular property shapes) -or- indicate incorrect distances for these irregular properties; iii) They fail to explain what system was used to take the measurements and it's tolerances, -or- if any distances were mathematically projected because current information was unavailable;

9) When a registrant is displayed, there is no indication when that information was retrieved from the state registry. How current is SORM information, given there are no laws governing SORMs and they are unregulated?

Austin couple victim of sex offender registration mishap
10-3-2007 Texas

An Austin couple want their neighbors to know they're not sex offenders -- even though a notice from the state might have suggested otherwise.

The couple bought a home where a sex offender used to live, but because of a clerical mistake, it appeared the offender still lived there.

Registered sex offender Zamaripa is behind bars in the Travis County Jail as of Tuesday night. But a notice recently showed up in his old northeast Austin neighborhood warning that a sex offender has moved in.

Instead, it's a young couple, and they're desperate to set the record straight.

Clint and Alexis Jurek just bought their first house and got ready to move in with baby, Max. Then a post card came in the mail.

"All of our neighbors think that a sex offender lives at our address," says Alexis. "And not only that, but our house has been vandalized."

Someone broke a door shortly after the notice showed up -- months past when the offender apparently left.

"Definitely worrisome," says Clint. "I have a five-month-old child that I have to move into the house in two or three weeks, and I can't move him into a place where there could be flying glass."

Notices are required by law -- as are verifications before mailing.

"In the process of doing those verifications, the record for this particular sex offender got lost in the shuffle," says the Texas Department of Public Safety's Tela Mange. "Reappeared about four months later."

DPS says it checked with Austin police -- and was told the offender still lived there.

APD is looking into the miscommunication. And DPS is streamlining processes in the wake of the mishap.

"We're very sorry to the family," Mange says. "And we're doing what we can to fix the situation and make sure it doesn't happen again."

Neighbors are set to receive letters informing them of the mistake.

"It was an inconvenience to me," Clint says. "But who I really feel sorry for are the people in this neighborhood who lived here for six months with a dangerous person."

Now they're getting back to living their dream and putting this nightmare behind them. ..more.. by Alexis Patterson

10) Some SORMs when they display a registrant indicate the person with a colored flag (or balloon), different colors meaning different things. One uses -red- to indicate the registrant's victim was a child, but how do they make that determination? Frequently these are incorrect, unless the state statute specifically makes mention of a victim's age range/s.

In addition, how does one know if the registrant's age WAS NOT within a few years of the victim? i.e., Romeo & Juliet type cases, OR simply the girls parents got mad and filed charges, when it was a boyfriend - girlfriend situation, OR, juvenile with a juvenile… playing doctor…. Misinformation abounds on SORMs.

11) The real purpose of SORMs is? One has to question if they really wish to protect the public, or is that a ruse to get other products and services before the public? Notice when you use them how loaded with advertising they are, which is more likely their primary purpose. Look also to see if they are giving away services or charging for them.

If anyone finds anything further please advise us so it may be included. eAdvocate.