Last month, the Pennsylvania State Police introduced several additions to the state's Megan's Law website, claiming that the updates would offer additional access and tools to parents and families so they can track registered sex offenders in their neighborhoods and near their children's schools. The updates will allow website users to search for registered sex offenders within a specified radius, a feature which was not included on the old version of the website.

Megan's Law is a Pennsylvania law that requires all who are convicted of sex crimes to register with the police. In doing so, they must provide personal information such as their home and business addresses, continually updating police should either change. The information is then made available to the public through a website.

With the website updates, a user can now enter an address and search for sex offenders who live, work or attend school within a half-mile, one mile, three mile or five mile radius of the searched location. Users can search the areas around their homes, schools, daycares, or any other significant locations. The website's search results will include a picture of the offender, a description of the offense for which he or she was convicted, and the location of the offender's work or school.

In addition, the website updates now allow users to find names that sound similar to the searched name. This means that if a user misspells the name of an offender, they will still be able to learn personal information about the offender.

Source: The Times Leader, "Site to help public track sex offenders", Edward Lewis, 24 February 2011