Sex offender registries help families all over the country with useful identifying information about sex offenders in their areas. These registries have been a staple of public safety ever since they were established, and the Ohio sex offender registry is more of the same. Doing an Ohio offender search is an easy way to find all of the information that you need to identify potential threats in your area. But how does Ohio law handle sex offenders, and what exactly can you hope to find when you do such a search?
Required Sex Offender Information in Ohio
Not every state has the same requirements because each state created its own laws. In the state of Ohio, there are 3 tiers that are used to identify sex offenders and each tier has its own requirements for registration duration and frequency of address verification. Tier I is required for 15 years and must verify once a year, Tier II is required for 25 years and required to verify twice a year, and Tier III is required for life and to verify 4 times a year. Each tier represents its own threat level, Tier I being the lowest and Tier III being the highest.
On the Ohio sex offender registry, you can expect to find the name, address, photograph, height, weight, offenses, tier level, and list of any scars or tattoos that the offender has. All of this information provided so the public can identify sex offenders while also being fully aware of each offender’s threat level. Knowing exactly where sex offenders are in relation to your home as well as what they look like allows you to know exactly how close to your front door potential threats live and that makes it a lot easier to plan for safety.
Why Sex Offender Registries Exist
There are a lot of tools that the government provides for a multitude of reasons. The sex offender registry is considered a public safety tool. The reason for this is that sex offenders have a very high recidivism rate in comparison with virtually every other crime while also posing a very real threat to the communities they live in. Keeping the public safe from this threat is a high priority for government officials all over the country, and that’s why easy public accessibility is a must for these registries.
Sex offender registries didn’t always exist, and many tragedies occurred because of the lack of these registries. The tragedy that made it clear to people all over the nation was the gruesome death of Megan Kanka. Megan was a young girl that lived with her parents in New Jersey. In 1994, Megan was raped and murdered by her neighbor. He had been convicted of sexual crimes and was known to be a pedophile. Because there was no registry there was no way for Megan’s parents to know about the threat that he posed, and because the internet wasn’t as prevalent as it is today they didn’t have an easy way to search for the telltale signs of a sexual predator. After this happened Megan’s Law was passed and enacted in 1996 in hopes that it could help prevent these kinds of tragedies from occurring.
Finding Safety in Your Community
Many people every day want to be sure that they are as safe from as many potential threats as possible. No one wants to have trauma inflicted on them that can potentially lead to loss of life in the worst-case scenario, and years sitting in a therapist’s office in the best case. Sex offender registries help keep people safe from these kinds of threats every day, and the more people are aware of threats in their area the more people can efficiently protect themselves.
***Registered Offenders List is a free online resource that strives to offer helpful content and resources to its visitors regarding registered sex offenders that live near you.
