What is Megan's Law?
Enacted in 1996, this federal law requires local law enforcement agencies in all 50 states to notify schools, day care centers, and parents about the presence of certain sex offenders in their area. The law was named for a seven-year-old Megan Kanka of Hamilton Township, New Jersey. In 1994, she was kidnapped, raped, and murdered, allegedly by a neighbor who was a twice-convicted sex offender.
There are 4 ways to obtain information about sex offenders in New York State:
1. You can call 1-800-262-3257 to determine if someone is on the Registry. You will need the name of the offender and one of the following: an exact address, a complete date of birth, a driver's license number or a social security number. Read more on the 800 Information line.
2. You can access the Subdirectory on this web site by clicking on the "Search Subdirectory " button. You can search for level 2 and level 3 offenders by name, county or zip code. Please note that a federal court injunction currently prohibits the release of information on this web site concerning sex offenders who committed their crime prior to January 21, 1996 and were assigned a risk level prior to January 1, 2000, unless they have had an opportunity for a due process hearing.
3. The local law enforcement agency where the offender currently resides, can, if it chooses, release information on sex offenders residing in the community to "entities with vulnerable populations related to the nature of the offense". The law enforcement agency can release information on level 1, level 2 and level 3 offenders through this method. Also, while the exact address of level 3 offenders can be provided, the law provides that only an approximate address based on zip code can be provided for level 1 and level 2 offenders. Please note that a federal court injunction currently prohibits the release of information through this method concerning sex offenders who committed their crime prior to January 21, 1996 and were assigned a risk level prior to January 1, 2000, unless they have had an opportunity for a due process hearing.
4. Each local law enforcement agency receives from the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services a copy (electronically or on a CD ROM) of the Subdirectory which is maintained on this site . Local law enforcement is required to maintain the Subdirectory for the public to view upon request.
Fingerprinting, and DNA Collection Kits are available to the public free of charge at you local Nassau County Police Precinct. The materials can be obtained from the Problem Oriented Police (POP) Unit..
Posted Sunday, February 7, 2010
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