iPerv: Track Sex Offenders with iPhone
NEW YORK (CBS) Wanna know where the nearest sex offenders live? The information is already public, but now you can call up the list of local sex offenders on your iPhone.
A new iPhone application called Offender Locator lets users locate and list nearby registered sex offenders using the phone's built-in Global Position System (GPS).
"They know where you and your family are," the 99 cent-application reads on iTunes. "Now it's time to turn the tables."
The New York Daily News calls it the "iPerv."
Another iPhone application that tracks sex offenders is dubbed S.O.S. for Sex Offender Search. Using the same sex offender directory available free on the web, it uses the phone's touch screen to easily tap on sex offenders a stone's throw away and get more information and possibly a photo, if available.
"The more sunlight we hit sex offenders with, the less space they can crawl into," said Queens' City Councilman and head of the Public Safety Committee Peter Vallone.
Offender Locator has been out for two months and is currently the number three paid application on iTunes with rave reviews.
It may be a top seller, but not everyone thinks such iPhone features are a good idea. Some even call them dangerous.
Derek Logue, who operates a support website for sex offenders, think applications such as Offender Locator could increase vigilantism, and criticizes the developers for capitalizing on free registries that include offenders who pose little danger, reports the paper.
"Not only sex sells, but sex offenders sell," said Logue.
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