Do You Know Who Your Neighbors Are?
Find Out with Megan's Law California Web Site
Which Reveals Convicted Sexual Offenders

House Hunting Tips vs. Impact of Megan's Law Web Site

What are your criteria for finding your next home? You may want it to be located close to a school, a park, a church and shopping centers. Many house shoppers also look at the proximity of the property to the freeway and centers of learning. For example, it is no coincidence that many home buyers and investors are interested in checking out homes located near the new UC Merced. What they have in mind is the possibility of renting their property out to teachers and students once the new UC is completed. Individual homeowners who have lots of cash in hands are leaving the Orange county and the craziness of San Jose, San Francisco's housing markets for places such as Modesto, Merced, Bakersfield and Fresno-Clovis areas. "What is clear is that most homebuyers want to purchase a property in a desirable location," said Mr. J. Charles, founder and CEO of ShopnowShop Real Estate Data Systems. "Property owners want no problem or headache when it comes time to sell. Many people tend to avoid crime-ridden neighborhoods."

Based on the recent protests and demonstrations that accompanied the planned relocation of a convicted sexual offended who had done his tine to Merced, one can say that there is some unease among neighbors who know that two doors or a few blocks down their home lives a high-risk sexual offender. In the case of Merced, California, all the members of the community rose to support the immediate neighbors of that felon. Pressure was placed on the judge handling the case as various civic members went to testify against the relocation. "Not in my backyard," was the common refrain. The sentiments against sexual offenders are so strong that in some California areas, some neighbors protested against some group homes that would house some forensic people with disabilities. For the longest time, the rule was "don't ask, don't tell." Violent sexual offenders had been able to live near parks and schools frequented by defenseless children. California people and legislators have gotten smart over the years. They have enacted and passed laws forbidding these violent offenders from living too close. Until very recently though, nobody knew exactly where the sexual offenders lived. If you were shopping for a new house, you had no tools that helped you avoid areas with high concentration of sexual felons.

Californians can now use http://meganslaw.ca.gov to check whether there are registered sex offenders living in their neighborhood. Since the web site has been going live in December, 2004, it has been greatly impacted, overwhelmed by the number of residents of California who want to check their neighborhood. The desire to find out grew even stronger with the passage of recent initiatives. http://meganslaw.ca.gov has become such a hot tool in the hands of homeowners, buyers, sellers, real estate agents, investors, and developers. Finding info on the Megan's law web site is like pulling a tooth. In just a few days, the site has received more than 5 million hits. It would be easier to stay away from it during peak times which come after work. To write this article, I had three people check the site. Each time they did, it froze. Each one of them received this message asking them to try again later.

Thanks to the Internet, information that a few people had access to has been made available to the public. Officials with the Attorney General's Office want to consider the public's rights to safety first. The current argument is that the sex felons had turned down their rights to privacy when they went out and committed these violent crimes on the most fragile elements of our society. Now being placarded on the Web may be used as a deterrent to further crime. This easy access to this trove of information right in the comfort of one's home and with a few clicks of the mouse is even better than going down to the nearest police station to get a printout. No more questions about why the printout is needed. If somebody is suspicious about a neighbor or if he/she does not like that neighbor's head, a search will be run on him or her. Fortunately, Meganslaw web site provides information to keep people from engaging into a witchhunt and neighborly persecution. This easy check of neighbors will also be a huge factor in the selling and buying of homes in California. Maybe some day, new housing developers will target specifically the sex offenders who will have their own secluded areas to live in. Will this be containment or solving the problem? Housing laws prevent landlords and homeowners from discriminating against any minority groups. As a minority group, the felons are also protected under the law despite their documented histories of violence in society.

Besides money which offers affordability and power, California residents have one more tool, one more obstacle to stay clear from in the search for their dream house.

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