Bill Would Give Neighborhoods Copies Of Sex-Offender List

INDIANAPOLIS -- An Indiana Senate bill would require the state to send CD-ROM copies of the state's sex-offender list to neighborhood associations twice a year.

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Marion County Prosecutor Supports Bill

Supporters of Senate Bill 192 say it would help neighborhood groups glean and publicize information about convicted sex offenders in their areas, RTV6's Norman Cox reported Wednesday.

The bill was born out of concerns that although the Indiana Sex and Violent Offender Registry is accessible to anyone on the Internet, many people aren't checking it.

Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi is among the bill's supporters.

"I do believe, as a parent of four, that we have a right to know who is living next door to us," Brizzi told a Senate panel Wednesday.

Supporters hope that if neighborhood associations receive CD-ROMs from the state, the groups will find it easy to find relevant information and publish it in newsletters.

Indiana law requires people convicted of sex crimes to register their addresses on the sex-offender list when they are released.

S.B. 192 has been approved by the Senate's judiciary committee, and will be considered by the full chamber.

Some lawmakers, noting that not all residential areas have neighborhood associations, would like the bill to require a wider registry distribution, Cox reported.