Crofton 2017 Halloween Sex Offender Safety Information

CROFTON, MD — As little ghosts and goblins prepare for their big night of trick-or-treating, parents may want to arm themselves with information on which houses to avoid while going door-to-door in the Crofton area.

To make it simple for parents across the state to protect their kids from dangers that may lurk in their neighborhoods or nearby, the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services offers a handy, searchable database on its website. That database contains the names, offenses and last known addresses of the state’s registered sexual offenders and predators.

There are three tiers of sexual offenders: one, two and three. Tier one offenders, least serious of the three, are on the list for 15 years and must register in person with a local law enforcement agency every six months. Tier one offenses include possession of child pornography, travel with intent to engage in illicit conduct, visual surveillance with prurient intent and more.

Tier two offenders are on the sex offender registry for 25 years and must register in person with a local law enforcement agency every six months. Tier two offenses include distribution of child pornography, sexual solicitation of a minor, third degree sex offenses and more.

Tier three offenders are on the sex offender registry for life and must register in person with a local law enforcement agency every three months. Tier three offenses include false imprisonment of a minor, rape or attempted rape, sexual abuse of a minor, child kidnapping and more.

Here's the map below:

There are 14 registered sex offenders living or working in Crofton, according to state records. Most of them are considered compliant, meaning they’ve registered regularly with local authorities as required. One is non-compliant, having not registered when required to.

How to Search for Yourself

Parents who want to check out the map for themselves can visit the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services website. There, you can search for sex offenders by: distance from an address, county, zip code, name and school, if they are employed by or enrolled in any institutions.

The tool allows users to start their searches in an area as small as a ¼ mile radius of the listed address and goes up to the 5-mile mark. Results can be displayed in list or map form.

SEE ALSO: Sex Offender Advocates Object To Local Mapping Of Registered Sex Criminals

Article image via Patch Media