No real-time updates: Family Watchdog relies on sex offender registries, which can be slow to update, so changes in the locations of offenders won’t always be immediately reflected on the maps.

Users can also sign up for free safety alerts via email.

No cost: Family Watchdog’s features are all free to use.

It not only provides data on nearby sex offenders, but also offers statistics on sex abuse and advice on how to keep your family safe.

Focused and helpful: Family Watchdog serves a specific function-to provide important information about sex offenders-and it does it well.

The site isn’t littered with disruptive or obstructive ads, like some other sites are.

Easy to use: Family Watchdog is intuitive to use, and provides maps and other information that are easy to read.

The site is also a great tool if you’re looking to move into a new neighborhood, trying to decide on a new school or daycare, or wondering about the risks of crime in a new area.

Parents and caregivers may find Family Watchdog particularly useful in helping them make safety decisions for kids, like what route their kids take walking to school or whether or not playing at a friend’s house is safe. About 30% of sex abusers are actually related to the victim, and sex offenses by strangers only make up about 10% of sex crimes. According to the site, 60% of abusers are known to the family of the victim, like a family friend or babysitter. Family Watchdog also offers vital knowledge about the nature of the sexual offenses, as well as practical tips to keep yourself and your family safe. The site was started in 2005, and it makes information from sex offender registries readily available and searchable for anyone. Users also have the option of signing up for email safety alerts. By entering an address or the name of a school or day care, users can view a map that shows the names, photos, and addresses of nearby sex offenders, as well as color coded markers that indicate the type of crime they committed. Even though sex offender registries exist, some people may not be aware of the offenders living in their area. Family Watchdog is a free service that allows people to easily map registered sex offenders living in their area.

Family watchdog