A Shaky Anti-Kidnap Tool

The rash of recent kidnappings in Southern California has a fearful public hunting for new solutions. One of the most popular proposals has been to put maps on the Internet showing the areas where convicted sex offenders are living. Maybe some parents who look at these maps will feel more prepared, but it’s a tool with limited usefulness and the potential for abuse.

Under the state’s Megan’s Law, named for a New Jersey kidnapping victim, the California public already has access to a load of data about sex offenders via telephone or at sheriff’s offices.

Give a name and other identifying information and you can find out whether someone who worries you is a registered offender. Or you can give a ZIP Code and view names, descriptions, criminal histories and photographs of serious and high-risk sex offenders who live in that area.

The systems proposed or planned in Los Angeles, Orange and Ventura counties would post Internet maps showing circled areas where registered sex offenders live. San Diego County, home of kidnapping and murder victim Danielle van Dam, started its site last month.

Under state law, officials cannot give out offenders’ names on the Internet and cannot give exact addresses at all, to avoid mobs hounding these ex-cons from place to place. But a look at the maps already put on the Web by California police agencies shows that some come close to giving addresses, with the circle covering just a few houses. Curious people could learn the names of the residents within the circle, make a phone call to the state and connect an offender to an address. But if the maps are truly vague, what use are they?

Given the high recidivism rates among serious sex offenders, the Internet sites may help some parents feel they’re casting a stronger safety net around their children.

The adults also should beware of the limits and hazards of Web postings. None of the accused in the four recent high-profile child kidnappings in California were registered sex offenders. (In the case of a 4-year-old girl kidnapped in a Los Angeles park, no sexual motive is suspected.) Only one lived near the kidnapping site. In addition, the postings depend on sex offenders registering their addresses regularly. Law enforcement agencies don’t have the funds to check them.

Time will determine the value of Internet information on sexual predators. What’s beyond dispute is the worth of old-fashioned strategies: securing homes, supervising children and educating them about safety.