The following information is from the site maintained by
Klaaskids Organization. Please
see their site for further information and to support a great
system.
The 1994 rape and murder of seven-year-old Megan
Kanka prompted the public to demand for broad based community
notification. On May 17, 1996, President Clinton signed Megan's
Law. Megan's Law requires the following two components:
Sex Offender Registration – The 1994 Jacob Wetterling Act
requires the States to register individuals convicted of sex
crimes against children. Sex offender registration laws are
necessary because:
- Sex offenders pose a high risk of re-offending
after release from custody;
- Protecting the public from sex offenders is a
primary governmental interest;
- The privacy interests of persons convicted of
sex offenses are less important than the government’s interest
in public safety;
- Release of certain information about sex
offenders to public agencies and the general public will assist
in protecting the public safety.
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Community Notification – Megan’s Law allows the
States discretion to establish criteria for disclosure, but
compels them to make private and personal information on
registered sex offenders available to the public. Community
notification:
- Assists law enforcement in investigations;
- Establishes legal grounds to hold known
offenders;
- Deters sex offenders from committing new
offenses;
- Offers citizens information they can use to
protect children from victimization.
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The interactive Megan’s Law map is color coded to reflect
Internet access of community notification laws to better serve
America’s evolving, fast paced, transient society. Young parents
considering day care providers or businesses and organizations
whose employees or volunteers have unsupervised access to children
require this critical information so that they can make informed
choices based on the best information available.
In order to remain current and maintain relevance we ask the
public to provide updated information that we may have overlooked,
including new, broken or invalid web links so that the KlaasKids
Foundation can continue to be the Internet’s premiere Megan’s Law
destination.
