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In 1995, New York passed the
Sex Offender Registration Act, more commonly known as Megan's Law.
The law requires that sex offenders convicted of certain specified
crimes register with the state and that communities be alerted to
their presence whenever possible.
Convicted sex offenders are
classified using a three-tier system. The courts determine the level of
notification for each parolee. Before an offender can be released from
prison, a level of notification recommendation is made to the sentencing
court. The offender is then classified by the court as either level 1
(low risk), level 2 (moderate risk), or level 3 (high risk). The risk
level assignment determines how much notification is given to the public
and/or local law enforcement agencies.
There are several ways residents
can learn if there is an offender living in their communities. The New
York State Department of Criminal Justice maintains a Web site that
lists all level 3 offenders and in most cases includes names (including
aliases), addresses, photos and details on their convictions. This site
can be reached by clicking on the following address:
http://criminaljustice.state.ny.us/nsor then locating the level 3
offender list on the left side of that web page.
If you prefer, the state offers
the sex offender registry by phone at (900) 288-3828. Please note that
there are charges associated with this call.
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