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E-mail This StoryCollin County will unveil a new sex offender registry system that gives law enforcement agencies and concerned citizens better access to offender’s information and locations.
The Collin County Sheriff’s Office will unveil its new “OffenderWatch” system on Tuesday at its headquarters on Community Avenue along with representatives from several Collin County law enforcement agencies. including McKinney, Frisco, Plano, Allen and Wylie, according to a released statement.
Collin County is the first county in the state to participate the program, according to the statement.
“This project is the first in the state of Texas representing a true cooperation between law enforcement agencies for the increased knowledge and safety of the citizens of Collin County,” the statement said.
The new system gives citizens and law enforcement agencies better access to information about sex offenders including their proximity to areas of interest around the city and county.
“This registry will enable citizens to search for the presence of registered sex offenders in proximity to their homes, places of work, schools and day-care centers,” according to the statement. “This information is being provided to the public in a form they can easily use any time day or night via the nation’s leading sex offender registration and notification solution.”
Citizens access the information by entering their address into the system. The system responds with a map listing offenders within a mile of the address and provides continuous monitoring of the registered address by local law enforcement agencies. Email alerts are also sent to citizens who register their address with the system, according to the statement.
The system is free of charge and confidential.
“The purpose of the program is to lessen the anxiety of citizens by proactively alerting them should an offender/predator move within proximity to them and to enhance the security and safety of the citizens of Collin County,” according to the statement.
The sheriff’s office and five aforementioned law enforcement agencies funded the system and will provide the system to all Collin County law enforcement agencies at no cost to them, according to the statement.
Lt. John Norton of the Collin County Sheriff’s Office said law enforcement officials will present a live demonstration of the “OffenderWatch” system on Tuesday along with representatives from local law enforcement agencies including Collin County Sheriff Terry box, McKinney Police Chief Doug Kowalski, Allen Police Chief Bill Rushing, Wylie Police Chief John Duscio, Plano Police Chief Greg Rushin and Frisco Police Chief Todd Renshaw.
Contact Danny Gallagher at dgallagher@acnpapers.
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