You've Got Mail: Florida Law's Sex Alert
Floridians can now sign up for e-mail alerts on sexual predators and offenders.
March 28, 2008— -- A new program alerting Florida residents by e-mail to the movements of registered sexual offenders and predators in their neighborhood or desired location debuted this week statewide.
"We can't knock on everyone's front door, but we can deliver information to everyone's desktop," Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) Commissioner Gerald Bailey said.
The Florida Offender Alert System is available on the state's Sexual Offender/Predator Registry Web site as well as on the state's local law enforcement Web sites.
Interested residents who sign up for the e-mail alerts can "select an unlimited number of addresses and/or offenders and predators to track, and can update their selections at any time." In addition, "The alert system will send e-mail notifications within 24 to 48 hours of an address change to the state's registry," according to the FDLE.
But some have reservations with Florida's e-mail alert system, including the head of the state's ACLU chapter, who says the e-mails may "alarm the community about people who may not be a threat to the community."
"Sexual predators -- those who have committed acts of violence -- should be monitored to protect our children and community," Howard Simon, executive director of the Florida ACLU, told ABCNews.com. "However, a distinction needs to be made between offenders and predators since the sexual offender label includes people with nonviolent convictions such as public urination, underage sexual activity and other nonviolent acts."
The FDLE says it developed the notification program at the direction of the Florida legislature as part of the state's compliance with the federal Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act.
