Keeping eye contact

Thursday, August 10, 2006

Of Robeson County's 152 convicted sex offenders, the Sheriff's Office is unsure where at least 25 of them are living, a number that will grow this week.
We find this to be good news. The bad news would be if these sex offenders had disappeared through the cracks for good.
The Sheriff's Office recently launched an effort to make sure that convicted sex offenders are following a law that requires them to tell authorities of their whereabouts. Sheriff's deputies last week began scanning the county, knocking on doors of convicted sex offenders to see if they were indeed at home.
By Friday, 65 sex offenders were where they were supposed to be, 25 weren't, and another 62 residences needed to be visited. The door-knocking effort was to resume this week, which is why the number 25 will grow higher.
The enforcement puts teeth into the law that requires sex offenders to register with the local Sheriff's Office within 10 days of moving to a new address. The law is intended to help lawmen keep a better eye on sex offenders, many of whom prey on children. It also arms parents and guardians who can visit www.ncregistry.ncsbi.gov or www.mapsexoffenders.com to find out if a sex offender is lurking in the neighborhood.
Although there appears to be no connection, this campaign was launched not long after an alleged assault on a county youth by a convicted child molester whom authorities did not know lived in Robeson County.
The department has said the campaign will be repeated periodically. Robesonians - especially those with young children - should take comfort in knowing that the Sheriff's Office is taking a proactive approach to this threat.
Keeping eye contact
Of Robeson County's 152 convicted sex offenders, the Sheriff's Office is unsure where at least 25 of them are living, a number that will grow this week.
No room for GI Joe
Sens. Joe Lieberman, John Kerry and John Edwards joined together in late 2002 in casting votes to authorize war to remove Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, but Lieberman was inspired to do so for a vastly different reason than his fellow Democrats.