Photo: WI Dept. of Corrections
Searching Wisconsin’s sex offender registry just got a little bit easier.
Since launching in 2001, those using the registry were limited to looking for individual names or by zip code. Grace Roberts with the state Department of Corrections says that could make it difficult for people searching in heavily populated areas, often returning dozens or hundreds of results in heavily populated areas.
An update to the site now allows people to search based on an address, while also limiting it to a radius of as little as one mile from their front door. Roberts says that “gives people the ability to hone in on a particular neighborhood and scale it down so they can see registered sex offenders close to where they are living, or working or going to school.”
The registry also allows people to set up email notifications for any new names added in their area or at an address.
There are more than 23,000 people listed on Wisconsin’s sex offender registry. Of those, over 17,000 living in communities across the state. The rest are currently incarcerated.