Las Vegas police partner with smartphone app to show sex offenders in neighborhoods ahead of Halloween
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) has partnered with an app that show residents where sex offenders live in their neighborhoods ahead of Halloween.
The free app called Offender Watch says on its website that it allows parents to “track your children, map offenders nearby, get alerts if your child is contacted or lingers near an offender’s residence, safety tips, and more.”
LVMPD partnered with the app so users can “view the locations of registered sex offenders’ home addresses within” the department’s jurisdiction.
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Company XYZ (offender watch) takes data from a government agency (various PDs) and then sells that data back to the government agency for a profit.
Have any of you taken a look at the offender watch website and read how they are utilized by thousands and thousands of LE jurisdictions? Does offender watch make campaign contributions to any of these sheriffs, attorneys general, governors, etc?
More than likely. They also like to give them awards for implementation; sheriff’s often publicize their receiving “national awards.”
Many sheriffs also just farm out their registry to Offender Watch, which charges them by how many registrants they have, probably a little less than they receive from the state for registry maintenance.
Nor does OW do it particularly well. My own entry there is grossly out of date, but I doubt anyone there is very alarmed by that. Why should they be? It doesn’t accomplish anything anyway.
To combat all of this I have an idea. Why not do away with door to door trick or treating and host parties for kids at all the schools, community centers etc. They could have candy, games, movies etc etc. There could be at least one officer or deputy at the events for safety and mostly eliminate the need for door to door begging.
Yeah, yeah I know, who is going to pay for all that.
Door to door isn’t banned in my area, but for years most of the schools in the county have been hosting Halloween for the kids. There’s a few families near me who take their kids out because they know I pass out really good candy. Full size candy bars, not that candy corn crap. Word spread over the years so now I get 15-20 kids at my door, even the older teens who live across the street from me, and yeah, they know my status and none of them even bat an eye at me. Probably because I go all out on decorations and my girlfriend and daughter and I all dress up and wait outside for the kids to come. I probably wouldn’t do it if I was singe with no kids, but for my daughter’s enjoyment, I try to make it as much fun as possible.
Disgusted
Do you give out the Mini Almond Joys? If so, I am coming over with a 5 gallon bucket LOL
It truly is astonishing that no one seems to be able to get through to the law, politicians, public that this helps with nothing but the bank account of the company who has the app. I love how the police claim it’s free. Demonizing those on the registry is very expensive to their lives and those who love them. Enough is enough.
Bea
Nothing is free. Someone, somewhere, somehow is pay for that. Going to school is free…………….but home owners pay for it with their taxes so it isn’t free.