Representatives from Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department and the Santa Maria Police Departments announced their new Offender Watch program yesterday at a Press Conference.
A public online database, Offender Watch allows Santa Barbara County residents to search for registered sex offenders near their places of work, school, daycare and residence throughout the county by entering an address into a search engine and viewing a map of offenders located within a one mile radius. Users can also register addresses onto the database to be informed of any sex offenders which move within a one mile radius, for no cost.
Funded by a state grant, Offender Watch aims to alleviate community anxiety over the safety of their homes and living spaces, while simultaneously allowing law enforcements to monitor the movement of sex offenders. The new program complies with the Adam Walsh Act, which requires the County to create three divisions for different categories of sex offenders.
The Offender Watch search can be found here.