MONROE - Monroe Police Chief Fred Kelley thinks it's a good idea to provide as much information to the public as possible.
"An informed public is a safer public," Kelley said.
Kelley likes the idea of a mapping tool that shows people where sex offenders live.
"It might be easier for some people to see the exact location on a map," he said.
State officials have added the mapping feature to the Wisconsin Sex Offender Registry Web site. It lets residents search for sex offenders within a certain distance from a location that they enter on the site.
It also allows people to sign up for free alerts that will notify them when an offender moves into their area.
According to the offender Web site, offender.doc.state.wi, people are notified as soon as the Wisconsin Department of Corrections (DOC) learns that a sex offender has moved near them.
Wisconsin's Sex offender Registry Web site was created in 1997. It was created to monitor and track people convicted of sex crimes and to provide access to the police, the public and to victims.
The site continues to provide the name, age, description and a photo of the offender. People can type in the zip code of their city, or any Wisconsin city, to find a list of people who have been convicted of sex crimes who live in that community.
When sex offenders have been released from prison to live in a community, DOC officials often have a meeting to inform the public. Officials routinely tell residents to look at the sex offender Web site to find out who lives in their communities.
They also warn against harassing the offenders.
Kelley said he doesn't think people will use the maps to locate offenders to harass them.
"We've never had a situation where people used it other than for information," he said.
Officials at the Wisconsin Department of Corrections say there's been an increase in the number of visits to the site since the new map feature was added.
The state sex offender registry has more than 20,000 people in it, including more than 5,800 who still are serving prison terms.
"An informed public is a safer public," Kelley said.
Kelley likes the idea of a mapping tool that shows people where sex offenders live.
"It might be easier for some people to see the exact location on a map," he said.
State officials have added the mapping feature to the Wisconsin Sex Offender Registry Web site. It lets residents search for sex offenders within a certain distance from a location that they enter on the site.
It also allows people to sign up for free alerts that will notify them when an offender moves into their area.
According to the offender Web site, offender.doc.state.wi, people are notified as soon as the Wisconsin Department of Corrections (DOC) learns that a sex offender has moved near them.
Wisconsin's Sex offender Registry Web site was created in 1997. It was created to monitor and track people convicted of sex crimes and to provide access to the police, the public and to victims.
The site continues to provide the name, age, description and a photo of the offender. People can type in the zip code of their city, or any Wisconsin city, to find a list of people who have been convicted of sex crimes who live in that community.
When sex offenders have been released from prison to live in a community, DOC officials often have a meeting to inform the public. Officials routinely tell residents to look at the sex offender Web site to find out who lives in their communities.
They also warn against harassing the offenders.
Kelley said he doesn't think people will use the maps to locate offenders to harass them.
"We've never had a situation where people used it other than for information," he said.
Officials at the Wisconsin Department of Corrections say there's been an increase in the number of visits to the site since the new map feature was added.
The state sex offender registry has more than 20,000 people in it, including more than 5,800 who still are serving prison terms.