Civil libertarians aren't happy about the amendment. It creates a false sense of security. These registries focus on strangers. But the real danger lies within the family, where most sex crimes take place, Jacobs said. Legal challenges have put Internet registries on hold in states such as Oregon.
Online files are more susceptible to a hack than a manila folder in a courthouse.
Offline, local police departments can take different steps to inform the community depending on whether the sex criminal is a repeat-offender rapist or a college kid who got busted dating a high school sophomore. Online, that distinction is blurred. Exactly 1,389 out of the 26,769 sex offenders listed on the Texas Department of Safety site are between 11 and 16 years old, for example. The information in these databases gets outdated quickly. And that can have horrible consequences.