San Diego County residents can sign up to get an email when a convicted sex offender moves into their neighborhood.
Under the Registered Sex Offender E-mail Notification System, residents can sign up to be notified when a convicted sex offender moves in or out of their zip code within San Diego County.
The new program was unveiled at the San Diego County Sheriff's Department Tuesday.
County Supervisor Bill Horn said the current system of people checking a statewide Megan’s Law website was too passive.
“It is tremendously important that we commit to doing our best, keeping our residents up to date on these dangerous criminals,” Horn said.
State law prohibits officials from providing the same information on the website in an email to subscribers.
“It protects the wrong people,” Horn said.
However, subscribers will be notified to check the Megan’s Law website when there has been a change to those sex offenders registered within their zip code.
The San Diego County District Attorney's Office tracks nearly 5200 sex offenders in San Diego County.
“Anything we can do to protect our kids is very important, very worthwhile,” said San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore.
Gore suggested parents include more than one zip code when they subscribe.
You can include not only your own address but also a school, park, or relative’s address.
To find out more about the new county email notification alerts and how to register, go to the website.
Megan's Law has made information on sex offenders required to register with local law enforcement available to the public since 2004.