Sex offender map online soon

Andrew Edwards

A list of where registered sex offenders and the area they live in

Huntington Beach will soon be posted online with the Orange County

Sheriff’s Department, the City Council decided on Monday.

There are 123 registered serious-risk sex-offenders living in

Huntington Beach, Police Chief Ken Small said. There are no high-risk

offenders in the city.

The California Department of Justice defines a serious risk

offender as someone who has been convicted of a violent felony like

rape or child molestation. High-risk offenders are those who have

been convicted of multiple violent sex offenses or a sex crime and

other violent crimes.

An online map will be available on the Sheriff’s Department’s

website, https://ocsd.org, in about two weeks. The map will not

provide sex offender’s addresses, but will identify registered

offenders who live within 1,500 feet of the markers on the map,

Sheriff’s Department Capt. Steven Bishop said.

The online map will allow users to search a specific address, or

to check whether offenders live near libraries, schools, shopping

centers and parks. When the system is up and running for Huntington

Beach, users will be able to click on a local landmark like the

Central Library or Murdy Park, and the map will zoom in to show if

any offenders live in that area.

“It’s another tool to make parents and visitors aware of their

surroundings,” Bishop said.

Huntington Beach parents should not necessarily be worried by the

number of offenders living in the city, but should check the map to

learn if offenders live near their neighborhood or areas frequented

by their children, Small said. At the police station, residents can

access a CD-ROM containing more detailed information about the

offenders, including a mug shot, the person’s offenses and the block

the offender lives on.

“If they look at the pin map [online] and see something in their

neighborhood, they should come down and look at the computer,” Small

said.

In California, Megan’s Law requires all sheriff’s departments and

police departments serving large cities to let the public access

information on high-risk and serious-risk sex offenders.