Sex-offender names, addresses will be made public

Marisa O’Neil

The state Assembly on Tuesday voted to make the names and addresses

of the most serious sex offenders available to the public. But until

those changes are signed into law, local residents can get only

general information online or at their police department.

The Newport Beach Police Department recently launched a page on

its website -- in addition to its database available at the station

-- that shows on a map the general area where registered sex

offenders live. It does not, however, give specific information such

as high-risk offenders’ names and addresses.

“Any time you make the public aware of the perpetrators in the

community -- the more information you get out -- the more you can

protect or eliminate future victims,” Costa Mesa Police Sgt. Jack

Archer said.

Residents can use computers at the Newport Beach and Costa Mesa

police departments to search by zip code or by name for sex offenders

living in their areas. Those databases are available under Megan’s

Law, named for a New Jersey girl raped and killed by a paroled child

molester.

Megan’s Law allows law enforcement agencies to make public certain

information on convicted sex offenders.

The proposed changes to the law in California would apply only to

the most serious or “high-risk” offenders, who have usually committed

one or more sexually-based, violent acts, Archer said.

Neither Newport Beach nor Costa Mesa has any high-risk offenders,

police said.

According to the Newport Beach Police website, 20 serious sex

offenders live within the city. A search of Costa Mesa’s two zip

codes on the Megan’s Law system turned up 105 serious offenders.

Convictions for a variety of offenses -- from a violent rape to

simply “mooning” people for a gag -- could require someone to

register as a sex offender for the rest of his or her life, Costa

Mesa Police Det. Clinten Dieball said.

The new information on the Newport Beach Police Department website

shows a map of the city with circles showing a general area of where

registered sex offenders live. That system is similar to a “pin map”

on the Orange County Sheriff’s Department website, which shows

offenders only for the areas it serves.

The Sheriff’s website also includes more information on its

high-risk offenders but not the exact address of residence.

“[For high-risk] you see the photo, name, physical description and

general area of residency,” Sheriff’s Capt. Steve Bishop said. “It

will give you a block or finite location and give the nature of the

offenses.”

Residents will find similar information if they access the Megan’s

Law database from the departments’ special computer terminals. But

even that provides only the zip code, not an actual address where

offenders live.

People can, however, conduct searches for a particular name or for

an entire zip code. Offenders’ names, convictions and photographs are

all accessible from the terminals.

“The picture provides an opportunity to look at an individual that

might be my neighbor or the clerk at the convenience store,” Dieball

said.

Costa Mesa Police get a few people each week using the database.

They must first sign an agreement saying they will not use the

information to commit a crime, Dieball said.

But some people are disappointed that the system, also used in

Newport Beach, doesn’t give more specific information about an

offender’s place of residence, Newport Beach Police Sgt. Steve

Shulman said.

“We don’t have as many people [access the database] as you would

expect,” he said.

Newport Beach businessman Craig Brown said that going into the

police department each month to see who’s moved into a neighborhood

is too inconvenient for most people. He started the company Children

Alert to send out e-mails to subscribers, letting them know when an

offender moves into their neighborhood.

But because more departments, like Newport Beach and the Orange

County Sheriffs, are posting the information online, he temporarily

suspended the service.

Right now, Costa Mesa Police don’t have any plans to go online

with offenders’ information, but residents can access the information

at the department.

The state Senate passed the legislation -- Assembly Bill 488 --

last week. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has not yet stated an position

on the bill.

* MARISA O’NEIL covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (949) 574-4268 or by e-mail at marisa.oneil@latimes.com.