To Catch a Predator

Techcrunch just featured Vision 20/20 - a geo-mash provider that has launched its beta version of a web-based mapping software providing information on sex offenders by neighbourhood. I have two right in my back yard. There is one creep who looks like a live-action Dilbert and was charged with lewd and lascivious acts with children and the other one (a freaking scary mo fo) was charged with two counts of rape. Neither one of these fellows wears a toque or sports a handle bar mustache like the offender icon suggests.

There are 650,000+ registered sex offenders in America and a little over 12,000 in Canada. However, for Canadians unless you've got a police scanner or are involved in a particular case you'll never know who these people are.

WE'LL NEVER KNOW
Due to privacy laws, the Canadian public is not likely to see a sex offender mapping system for their neighbourhoods. The RCMP currently has a Sex Offender Registry; however, this is simply an internal tool used by police to check for the location of sex offenders on a case-by-case basis. Essentially, this is used as a lead generator should a crime take place.

Last month, MySpace booted 30,000 registered American sex offenders off their site; however, due to Canadian privacy laws and the inability to furnish non-police parties with sex offender names etc., the exclusion did not apply to Canadian accounts.

BURNING QUESTIONS
Why would 30,000 American sex offenders use their real names to register for online social networks with the intent to re-offend? Couldn't they have signed in with a pseudonym or signed in with their primary location being Canada? Is it possible that these people are just making a legitimate attempt to make friends online?

I'm not claiming that I'm a criminal mastermind, but seriously, for the last 5 years I've been writing under pseudonyms just to avoid catching shit at work. I'd think a predator would have enough sense to do this, but then again, these are the people that have already been caught once.

I guess the real question is: can sexual offenders be rehabilitated? I've watched more than a decade worth of Canadian parents fight for access to a Sex Offender Registry and lose. This may be because I've also watched herds of picket-wielding mobs assemble on a sex offenders' lawn (who had not re-offended) and run him out of town. This is certainly not a black and white issue and the only thing parents can really do is talk to their kids.

TALKING: A PARENT'S GUIDE TO PLAYING IT COOL
Be realistic. If your 15-year-old daughter wants to have sex with someone, she will. I did, and I didn't do it by meeting an internet predator. I got myself a fake ID and went to the local pub where I sought out and won over a 19-year-old college student. We ended up dating for 3 years and my parents couldn't do a damn thing about it.

Be cool. Instead of using scare tactics, or spying on your kids, give them some useful tips. Suggest the following:
- consider nicknames or pseudonyms for registering online profiles (you can even use potential employment as a valid point);
- leave the school, town and address fields blank on profiles; and,
- only share photos with school-related friends or use photo filters to blur profile pics (Their school probably has Photoshop installed so you can offer to email a Photoshop tutorial or you could purchase them the Plasq product of their choice.)

( Add your comments )

Recent Entries:
· The Rebirth of Hip-Hop? Right...
· Cloud Computing: The Buzz and Blur
· Spore: Inner Feelings from Outer Space

[ READER COMMENTS ]

(Note: separate multiple email addresses with commas)

To Catch a Predator

Add your comments...

We kindly ask that you keep your comments relevant to this blog entry. Abusive or inappropriate comments or comments that are specifically promotional in nature may be removed.