NJ- Offender Locator: Is the new iPhone app a good thing?

8-7-2009 National:

Now you can have sex offender information on your iPhone - but should you?

Cruising for iPhone apps yesterday I found Offender Locator. It gives you access to information about the location of sex offenders in your area (or anywhere in the U.S.) posted on a map using your iPhone's GPS. You can download the app for a mere ninety-nine cents or test out the "lite" version for free.

The sales rhetoric on their page is about what you'd expect: "They know where you and your family are... now it's time to turn the tables." In some ways, my discomfort with this app echoes how I have always felt about registering sex offenders and disclosing that information to the public.

But the Offender Locator app takes my objections to the next level.

I hold what I have found to be the unpopular opinion that once a person has finished serving his or her sentence, the offender shouldn't be further stigmatized (as if being on parole, not able to vote and having to disclose your criminal background every time you apply for a job isn't stigma enough).

If sex offenders continue to pose a risk to the public, either don't let them out or monitor them electronically, but don't give everyone access to their home address. Leave that information in the hands of law enforcement, where it belongs.

First, by making the information mobile, it cuts down whatever "thinking period" there was between finding the information and possible acts of violence or harassment. With approximately 20 million iPhones sold, that's a lot potential anti-sex offender "vigilantes."

Secondly, there are questions about whether it's ethical for a company to be profiting by selling this information. Offender Locator is currently listed among the "Top Ten Apps" - meaning that the creator is probably making thousands of dollars a day selling it.

It may not even be legal in at least one state (California). The company that puts this app out compiles it from state databases, which are public. But they place disclaimer on it: the information may not be up-to-date, since databases are constantly being updated.

And at least one comment on the iTunes store page describing Offender Locator suggests that the number of offenders listed in the app do not match the number in his state registry, leading to questions about just how often the information on Offender Locator is updated and how it's checked for accuracy.

There are inherent problems with Megan's Law, the law that requires sex offenders to register, and this app brings them to the fore again. For example, offenders must register for life - including juveniles. That's right, if your 15-year-old child makes a dumb mistake and is convicted, he is registered for life. What's worse, a recently released, federally funded study indicates that Megan's Law may not even work.

Lest I be accused of favoring the rights of sex offenders over the protection of our families, let me unequivocally say that sex crimes against children are heinous and should be punished sternly. And, while I can disagree with whether that punishment should involve a lifelong stigma, I recognize that is now the law. But do we need access to it between our flashlight app and our Trivia Quiz app? I say not. ..Source.. by Maria E. Andreu