The Board of Directors for the National Association for Rational Sexual Offense Laws objects to local public safety maps which pinpoint the addresses of individuals listed on official state sex-offender registries. NARSOL submitted this letter to Patch explaining why such maps should not be published at Halloween. https://patch.com/us/across-america/sex-offender-advocates-object-mapping-registered-sex-criminals
This is why the public registry is a punishment. Registrants are literally being listed on hunting lists, not only endangering ourselves, but all our loved ones as well.
It doesn’t work
Guest
October 12, 2017 4:50 pm
I still have many good & close friends, and they want to talk to me about these “Patch Halloween sex offender maps.” They have willingly disclosed to me that they DO NOT use these “maps” for saftety or to avoid said houses on halloween, but because it’s just interesting for them to click on all of the “dots.” They like to gossip about those “dots.” THEY DO NOT WRITE DOWN OR MEMORIZE THE ADDRESSES in order to avoid on Halloween. For The Patch, this is when their ratings SPIKE!! They are NOT trying to “save” anyone and they know it.
Eric
Guest
October 12, 2017 10:26 pm
This is a great article. Not a single recorded instance in over 20 years of someone on the registry violating a trick-or-treater, yet fatalities due to autos increases four fold every Halloween evening.
Tim Moore
Guest
October 12, 2017 11:16 pm
Please contact NARSOL if interested in volunteering to send letters to local Patch newsrooms or to send letters to other local news outlets that encourage sex offender Halloween hysteria. Some local Patch sites did not have maps posted a week ago, but are now posting, because “their readers want to see them”. Many Patch localities are also publishing the NARSOL letter.
Every little bit helps.
Bob
Guest
October 13, 2017 6:07 am
Things like this trigger unnecessary panic and potential vigilantism by pin pointing registrants on maps as targets for such actions.
Then you have things like in this post link below, happen to a registrant.
You publish these maps because of a 44 year old tragedy? How many children are killed every Halloween by drunk drivers? I know of two young girls in LA who lost their lives last year. And of those killed, how many of the drunk drivers had previous DUI convictions?
Now, since 1973, how many children were harmed by known or unknown sex offenders on Halloween?
It seems that if you really wanted to help parents keep their children safe, as you claim, you’d publish the names of those convicted of DUI.
The truth is you only publish the sex offender locations because it’s more juicy and you can capitalize on the sex offender hysteria to drive traffic to your site. Never mind the harm that might come to the children of sex offenders when vigilantes target the homes you’ve decided to help expose to the public.
Be careful, Patch wriders and editors. What have you got lurking in your closet? You might find yourselves the target of people who’ve got nothing more to lose.
steve
Guest
October 14, 2017 8:40 am
Based on all the facts, no instances of RO’s committing crimes on Halloween and all of the other data lowest recidivism etc while kids are being killed by DUI drivers every year and no dots for them..there is no valid reason for them to do the dots…this is done plainly for their financial gain with no benefit to the public…seems like harassment to me.
C
Guest
October 14, 2017 9:51 am
Annual Patch maps, Operation Boo and similar activities are nothing more than self-promotion under the guise “protecting the public.” They are little more than publicity stunts conducted at our expense.
norman
Guest
October 14, 2017 5:32 pm
Do you really think that ‘Patch’ really cares about kids? absolutely not..they only care about viewership to increase their advertising profit. Exploiting the registry creates fear which we all know is a very strong emotion which leads to (potential) increased viewership…if people convicted of dui had a similar registry they would be exploiting that… Patch is nothing but scum on the bottom of my shoe…btw I have never heard of Patch until now..pffft..they are now outa my life..and my clicks that add to their revenues..
This is why the public registry is a punishment. Registrants are literally being listed on hunting lists, not only endangering ourselves, but all our loved ones as well.
I still have many good & close friends, and they want to talk to me about these “Patch Halloween sex offender maps.” They have willingly disclosed to me that they DO NOT use these “maps” for saftety or to avoid said houses on halloween, but because it’s just interesting for them to click on all of the “dots.” They like to gossip about those “dots.” THEY DO NOT WRITE DOWN OR MEMORIZE THE ADDRESSES in order to avoid on Halloween. For The Patch, this is when their ratings SPIKE!! They are NOT trying to “save” anyone and they know it.
This is a great article. Not a single recorded instance in over 20 years of someone on the registry violating a trick-or-treater, yet fatalities due to autos increases four fold every Halloween evening.
Please contact NARSOL if interested in volunteering to send letters to local Patch newsrooms or to send letters to other local news outlets that encourage sex offender Halloween hysteria. Some local Patch sites did not have maps posted a week ago, but are now posting, because “their readers want to see them”. Many Patch localities are also publishing the NARSOL letter.
Every little bit helps.
Things like this trigger unnecessary panic and potential vigilantism by pin pointing registrants on maps as targets for such actions.
Then you have things like in this post link below, happen to a registrant.
https://floridaactioncommittee.org/foul-play-suspected-in-death-of-missing-sex-offender/
My post to the patch:
You publish these maps because of a 44 year old tragedy? How many children are killed every Halloween by drunk drivers? I know of two young girls in LA who lost their lives last year. And of those killed, how many of the drunk drivers had previous DUI convictions?
Now, since 1973, how many children were harmed by known or unknown sex offenders on Halloween?
It seems that if you really wanted to help parents keep their children safe, as you claim, you’d publish the names of those convicted of DUI.
The truth is you only publish the sex offender locations because it’s more juicy and you can capitalize on the sex offender hysteria to drive traffic to your site. Never mind the harm that might come to the children of sex offenders when vigilantes target the homes you’ve decided to help expose to the public.
Be careful, Patch wriders and editors. What have you got lurking in your closet? You might find yourselves the target of people who’ve got nothing more to lose.
Based on all the facts, no instances of RO’s committing crimes on Halloween and all of the other data lowest recidivism etc while kids are being killed by DUI drivers every year and no dots for them..there is no valid reason for them to do the dots…this is done plainly for their financial gain with no benefit to the public…seems like harassment to me.
Annual Patch maps, Operation Boo and similar activities are nothing more than self-promotion under the guise “protecting the public.” They are little more than publicity stunts conducted at our expense.
Do you really think that ‘Patch’ really cares about kids? absolutely not..they only care about viewership to increase their advertising profit. Exploiting the registry creates fear which we all know is a very strong emotion which leads to (potential) increased viewership…if people convicted of dui had a similar registry they would be exploiting that… Patch is nothing but scum on the bottom of my shoe…btw I have never heard of Patch until now..pffft..they are now outa my life..and my clicks that add to their revenues..