Yahoo! Maps meets US Criminal Records?
I recieved a mass email from a friend. You know, those friends that have decided to put you on some list with a whole bunch of other people whose only common ground is that they have all been deemed appropriate for mass email consumption by this one person. These emails are typically crass comics or family news, but this morning I recieved a rare bit of dissipated information with the intro "Thought you might find this interesting..." and, well, I actually did.
The email pointed me to a website, Family Watchdog. At this site, I can casually look up a listing of my local sex offenders, interfaced with a map that actually shows me where they live or work in relationship to my address.
Now, I realize that once someone is charged with a sex offense, this is a scar on their record which they carry with them forever. And many communities with families feel that they have a right to know this information about the villagers who are going to be raising their child. But I couldn't help but notice that the two related links advertising on the site are
1)Instant Detective, which advertises "Unlimited Background Checks on Anyone," and
2)Neighborhood Check, which displays an interesting dichotomy between their home page with the statement
"Find Old Friends, Missing Family, and Former Classmates,"
and it's advertisement on Family Watchdog, which reads,
"Criminal Report: Case Numbers, Fine Sentence Dates, Offenses & Pleas."
How much information am I really interested in finding out about my old classmate?
This site, while possibly well-meaning in its means, points to an incredibly eerie end. Forget Homeland Security; I'm scared of that gossipy neighbor that just got a laptop and WiFi connection.