Tracking And Locating Sex Offenders On An International Level

Tracking And Locating Sex Offenders

Sex offenders commit some of the worst types of crimes that can be identified within the criminal justice system. Many sex offenders obtain this label by becoming predators of children. The public has a right to know the location of these criminals by performing a sex offenders search. Canada recently addressed the importance of this notion by now requiring that convicted offenders notify Canadian authorities prior to traveling outside the country. This new condition allows Canadian officials to alert the destination country of the arrival of a convicted Canadian sex offender.

Goodbye Sex Offenders, We'll Always Have Twitt...
Goodbye Sex Offenders, We’ll Always Have Twitter – The Controverse 54 REMIX (Photo credit: oxmour)

This new found sense of urgency by Canadian officials’ further promises a more streamlined and accessible national database. This will enhance a sex offenders search performed by the general public when using the new and efficient database that was originally pieced together with poor navigation. High risk child sex offenders will be easily highlighted by the database. The new measures will be incorporated in a legislative act outlining penalties for offenders to be reviewed by Parliament in the fall.

These regulations will ensure that parole and probation officers along with convicted sex offenders alert police of any international travel plans well in advance of the dates of travel. Canadian border guards will be advised by police under identifiable circumstances to inform the destination country that a dangerous offender will be arriving shortly. The new procedures will display the seriousness that Canadian officials take toward the tracking and locating of dangerous sex offenders on an international level. The overall communication between officials at all levels of government is expected to improve exponentially with these measures in place.

Finding Sex Offenders In Your City With Google Search

Google Maps has always been a very useful tool.  Users could employ the tool to locate addresses, people and even offices. The tool could also be accessed through mobile phones and it is a huge asset for people while driving as well. Even so, the Google Design team has now managed to tweak the map to provide an even more beneficial tool. It is now linked with state databases that will show the addresses of local sex offenders, perfect for finding sex offenders. Using the tool is simple. You can access the state database of registered sex delinquent and then enter your address in to the state search engine.  This will produce a Google Map of your address and the locations of sex offenders within a five mile radius of your home.

For additional information, you can click on the red bubbles on the map. This will provide additional information on the sex offender in the form of an address and photograph. The map is generally very specific but there are drawbacks. For example, not every sex offender is required to register their name and address with the state database. Moreover, even though offenders register with the sex criminal registry, it takes some time for the paperwork to be processed and entered into the system. In a few states, sex criminals have to register for their entire lifetime and this information is readily accessible for users.

Finding Sex Offenders

Although this is a valuable asset for personal security, almost every database carries strict warnings about the misuse of this information. Using the information to harm or injure the registered offender could result in an arrest for the person.

3 Basic Ways To Help Keep Your Child Internet Safe

These days, as a parent, it’s often the case that your children know more about the internet and computers than you do. But it’s still your duty as a parent or guardian to protect their experiences online, keep your child internet safe. While there is legislation in place that requires children to get a parents permission before giving out sensitive information like address and phone number, among other things. But that doesn’t always happen – so just as with pretty much everything else with your child – it doesn’t hurt to be proactive.

What follows is some basic advice for making sure that the internet experience of your younger child is safe and secure (and they don’t inadvertently end up charging your credit cards a ton of money).

Become Computer Literate Yourself

It is still your job as a parent to make sure that your child’s experience online is safe and secure – but how can you do that if your kid needs to show you how to change the internet settings on your computer? If you aren’t too tech-savvy, enroll in a class at the local community college or high school. You’re going to want to make sure you are able to know how to:

  • Set up a separate “profile” on your computer for each child, with only you as an administrator
  • Manage and block websites that your child has access to

While younger children generally will not try and find ways around your internet restrictions, as children get older, they might attempt to get beyond your restrictions if they find them unfair – for example, if you don’t allow them to set up any social media profiles (Facebook, Twitter, myspace, etc) or use chat-rooms. So be prepared to enforce and defend your decisions – which is where our second piece of advice comes in handy.

Educate Your Children About The Dangers

The internet is not a safe place – not intrinsically. Sensitive data is not always secure and once something is posted on the internet it’s always going to be there – even if the profile or image is deleted.

Some basic ground rules and dangers to warn your children about might include:

  • Never complete an online profile – don’t give out address, phone number, photos or even their real name.
  • Warn children of people who contact them and and interested in meeting face-to-face.
  • Make sure they know they can (and should) talk to you if anything happens on the internet that makes them feel uncomfortable.

Get Involved

You’re going to want to get involved with your child’s internet experience to make sure that things are safe. Especially with younger children, there are definitely things that may seem innocent to them that may not actually be. Some guidelines for getting involved in your child’s internet experience include:

  • Keeping the computer in a common area.
  • Share an email account with your child – or make sure that you have the password to their email account to monitor for unsolicited emails.
  • Bookmark your child’s favorite sites for easy access.
  • Monitor credit cards and phone bills for unfamiliar charges.
  • Disable “cookies” so that a child can’t inadvertently process a credit card charge because all the necessary data is already stored.

These are some of the most basic things you could (and should) be doing to keep your child and your child’s identity safe on the internet – this is the “don’t take candy from strangers” lesson for the digital era, and you want your children to understand it without having to learn it the hard way.

Alison Waters is a freelance writer who works with a company that offers IT project management and hardware support – so that if you’re a small business owner and your kid inadvertently pulls all the plugs, they could still recover your data. She hopes that no child is the target of an internet predator.

Why You Shouldn’t Friend Your Teen on Facebook

If you have a teenager, you’re probably well-versed in how important the Internet is to the social life of a high schooler. Most teenagers have Facebook accounts and spend many hours per week on the computer. It’s a trend that isn’t going away. You might even have a Facebook page of your own. But does that mean you have to be “friends” with your teenager? Some parents very closely monitor the computer usage of their teenagers and others don’t bother. Where do you fall on the spectrum? A teenager’s Facebook page is a very personal place, and if you’re friends with them, you’ll have access to it. As a parent, you may think it’s a good idea. It’s not. Some things should remain sacred, and your child’s Facebook page is one of them. Under no circumstances should you friend your teenager on Facebook. If you do, you’ll probably end up regretting it very quickly. Here are a few reasons why you shouldn’t go there.

Do You Really Want to Know What They’re Doing?

Teenagers use Facebook to post and comment on all types of teenage things. They’ll post pictures of the weekend parties, talk about relationships, say things they think are “cool,” and much more. Do you really want to be able to see all that? Being able to view your teen’s Facebook page may grant you too high a level of access into their personal life. Many things may not warrant parental intervention, but seeing them may make you uncomfortable.

Do You Really Want to Know What Their Friends are Doing?

Teens use Facebook to communicate with each other all the time. Not only will you have unnecessary access to the comments of your own teenager, you’ll also be viewing the wall posts, status comments and photos of their friends, too. If you’re not ready to see your teenager’s closest buddies in a new light, you shouldn’t be friends with your teen on Facebook.

You’ll Make Them Censor Themselves

If you’re friends with your teen on Facebook, you better believe they’ll censor their page for you. They’ll think twice about everything they post. They’ll first evaluate if it’s something they’re okay with you seeing or not. While it’s a good thing for them to be discerning with what they post, you don’t want to be the sole reason they have to censor themselves. Let your teen be a teen. They’ll be able to enjoy their social networking experience more if you’re not watching so closely.

You’ll Have to Censor Yourself

You’ll also have to make sure your page is appropriate for your teen to see, too. You won’t be able to post anything you don’t want them to see, like things they could make fun of or be upset by. But you have a personal life, too, and you don’t want to censor yourself, either. If you don’t friend your teen, you won’t have to worry about it. You can be yourself and enjoy Facebook without worrying about constantly playing the part of parent and role model.

Terry Ford wants to remind you that Facebook can be fun if you play carefully and always use a Grammar Checker.

Keeping Kids Safe Using A GPS Tracker

Every year we see stories on missing children. Some children make it back home, others never do. The idea of losing a child strikes fear in the heart of any parent.  With child abductions continuing to make the evening news, many are turning to technology to keep their kids safe. One of the technologies a parent can use is the GPS tracker.

Many of us use the GPS technology to navigate in unfamiliar locations. A GPS only communicates with its satellite. To allow tracking, the GPS works with some sort of transmitter to utilize both the global positioning technology and a cellular phone network. The transmitter can be a cell phone or a wireless device capable of transmitting a signal. A more sophisticated GPStracker will communicate via a system that resembles a satellite phone.

Cell Phone Tracking

Most cell phones now have a GPS receiver built-in. The cell phone communicates with the cell phone towers when you make a call. As long as the power is on, the phone can be located. Parents rest easier knowing that the cell phone can help find their child, should he turn up missing.

The cell phone has a few shortcomings when used as a tracking device. Be aware that the cell phone does not use a GPS satellite to register its location. The cell phone uses triangulation from cell phone towers. Additionally, the cell phone sends no signal if shut off or if the battery dies. The same goes for cell phone “dead zones.”

GPS Monitoring Devices for Children and Teens

If parents wish to be able to track their children more closely than a cell phone is able, many small battery-operated devices are available.

These devices are available in a variety of styles. A child wears the tracker like a wristwatch. Another popular GPS tracker is small enough to fit in the palm of the hand. Your child can carry it in a backpack without it being noticeable to anyone. Technology has even advanced enough to monitor the speeds of teen drivers. The long battery-life on these devices allow them to be used for days and information is available in real-time.

Tracking Registered Sex Offenders

Sexual predators are a parent’s worst nightmare. Even if a sex offender is registered and police know where he or she lives, a community still worries about the safety of children living nearby. Police departments now use GPS devices to track the movements of these offenders. If a child goes missing, police can locate those registered offenders immediately.

Surveillance on Suspects in Crimes

No one wants to think about unsolved crimes. Often criminals succeed in avoiding capture because of an understaffed police department. However, the police constantly have open criminal cases. GPS trackers are now legally available for the police to use when a person is a suspect in a criminal case. If a suspect has committed a violent act, the use of GPS technology allows police to know more about suspects and catch criminals more quickly.

Although a relatively new technology, GPS trackers are being used many different ways. Parents, probation officers and police officers all use the technology to keep children and the communities in which they live safe.

Peggy Crippen, a guest blogger, regularly writes about technology and translation services, including how a GPStracker benefits the lives of many.

International Child Abuse Club Busted and Cooked Babies in the News

Casey Anthony has been booked into the Orange ...
Image via Wikipedia

With talk of the Casey Anthony case plastered all over the news and search results, it can be difficult to weed through the drama and find updates on real news concerning cases of child abuse, neglect and murder. Unfortunately, there are definitely more horrifying things going on right now than a drawn-out suspected murder case that everyone is tired of hearing about.

For instance, a sickening case of international child abuse was recently uncovered. As of today, August 3, 2011, a group of at least 72 identified individuals, including 43 from the United States, are being charged for circulating pictures and participating in an online forum used to promote child abuse and rape. The investigation is still ongoing, and it originally targeted 600 private members of this twisted, international child abuse network.

Participants in the network attempted to conceal their identities and locations by using proxy servers – unfortunately, authorities are unable to fully identify some of the participants, and now only have their user names with which to work.

However, it is now known that members were spread across at least 13 different countries, including France, Germany and Switzerland. So far, there have only been 43 arrests made in the United States, and a total of 9 spread across the rest of the 13 countries.

There were different levels of membership to the forum, including a “Super VIP” section that required participants to maintain their status by consistently uploading pictures and other content depicting children they had molested and physically abused. While the thought of such a large-scale child abuse operation is horrifying enough, some of the children posted on the forum were infants.

On a lesser scale, but just as sickening, a California mother is involved in an ongoing trial for allegedly trying to cook her baby in the microwave.

The case was opened in March, and the woman is now scheduled for an August 26 hearing that will determine if she is guilty of murdering her 6-week-old infant in a microwave. Although the proceedings are currently on hold due to lack of evidence, the injuries that killed the infant girl have already been identified as microwave burns.

According Ka Yang’s attorney, Linda Parisi, she may be suffering from psychological problems. In any event, the child was found in the suspect’s home already dead from the burns she sustained. The mother has already been charged with one count of murder due to the intentional and involved torture.

By Jacob Maslow.

Despite having five children, Jacob finds the time to be the editor of Rapid News Network and Marketing Director for a large ecommerce company that sells various items including allergy bedding and the popular Melissa and Doug toys

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