APPLETON, Wis (NBC 26) -- If you're a parent, worried about who may live next door, there's a resource that can help anyone determine if a registered sex offender lives on their block.
Within a one-mile radius of the Appleton Police Department, there are a known 135 registered sex offenders living in local residences. Throughout the city, however, the number is much higher.
"Within the city we have several hundred," says Sgt. Joanna Kolosso a Sex Offender Registry Program Specialist with the Appleton Police Department.
Sgt. Kolosso is responsible for keeping tabs on sex offenders who move in and out of town and who are required to report to local authorities.
"We can't prevent them from living in the community. They are people like we are. Obviously, they have a past and it's just something to be aware of."
For some sex offenders currently under supervision or parole, community members might be notified when they are moving into a neighborhood. But for all too many other situations that awareness, falls into the publics' hands.
"I think most people could find it if they did a simple google search online. The Wisconsin Department of Corrections has a website that is accessible to the public."
On the Wisconsin Department of Corrections Sex Offender Registry page anyone can plug in their address, or the address of a stranger, and find out who resides at homes within a one to three-mile radius who are registered sex offenders.
"It's just a good source of information. People have questions about it that's a good place to look."
On the website you'll see a photo of the person, what they were convicted of, and if they are in compliance with the requirements from the state. It's a resource that police say could give the public a better idea of who's living on their block.
"Situational awareness is what we in policing call it," adds Sgt. Kolosso.
