Bowen
With Halloween and trick-or-treating right around the corner, it is important to know which houses children should avoid during their festivities. In Hamilton County there are some 136 registered sex offenders who reside in the area along with nearly 69 more who travel to the county to work. The Sheriff’s Office, which is charged with maintaining the Sex and Violent Offender Registry, wants you to know where these offenders reside so you can avoid those houses when trick-or-treating. “We make every effort to ensure sex offenders live and work where they tell us. We have officers who regularly check on offenders to make sure they are following the rules and guidelines of the registry. It’s important for our area residents to visit our website to see who the registered offenders are and where they live and work,” says Hamilton County Sheriff Mark Bowen.
Residents are encouraged to check addresses where they live, work and spend time to see if registered offenders live nearby. According to Sheriff Bowen, “The mapping and address feature found on the website pinpoints exactly where an offender lives or works.”
The Offender Watch website also allows the ability to sign up for free automatic e-mail notifications if an offender moves within a specified radius of any registered address. “If you plan on trick-or-treating at another family member’s house or a friend’s house, register or search that address beforehand so offender homes can be avoided. The public can also use the website for addresses where children spend time, such as with relatives, babysitters, and friends,” advises Sheriff Bowen. The alerts are real-time and sent via e-mail as soon as an offender registers with the Sheriff’s Office.
The Offender Watch website for Hamilton County is sheriffalerts.com/cap_main.php?office=54835 or it can be accessed through the Sheriff’s Office web page at hamiltoncounty.in/gov/sheriff. Site users then have options to check for offenders near a specific address or sign up for e-mail alerts in case an offender moves into the area. Safety tips and talking points can also be read or printed from the website.