STATEWIDE–Indiana has the second fewest sex offenders in the country, according to a new report.
Analysts at A Secure Life, a home security firm, evaluated data from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to provide complete rankings.
“The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children had created a whole map that showed the number of offenders in each state as well as the rate per capita,” said Amy Dominguez, the Community Manager at A Secure Life.
Indiana has 9,911 sex offenders per 100,000 people.
The report looked at the sex offender registries for each state to get the data on the number of registered sex offenders in each state by surveying the individual sex offender registries for each state. Then, the total number of offenders was compared with census data to determine the number of sex offenders per 100,000 people.
When it comes to why Indiana has so few sex offenders, Dominguez couldn’t give an exact reason.
“There’s not really a big rhyme or reason. Sometimes it can be what they’re charged for. If anything, I would say it might have something to do with state laws. But it’s kind of hard to say what would make a state have fewer or more,” Dominguez said.
This is the first year the report has been done. Dominguez says chances are good that sex offenders live near you no matter where you are in the U.S. You can find them on sites like Family Watchdog.
“You can at least get a good idea of offenders in your neighborhood. You can plug in your address and find information about offenders around you. You can find out what offense they committed. It’s always good to know what’s going on around you.”
A Secure Life recommends these safety tips:
- Get to know your neighbors before letting your children visit their home.
- Don’t let your kids travel alone to or from school. Drive them yourself, arrange for a ride, send them on a school bus, or make sure they’re walking with a group.
- Install security cameras and motion sensor lights outside your home so you can always see who is coming and going.
- Consider carrying small self-defense items if you’re running or walking alone—especially when it’s dark out.
Oregon was the state with the most sex offenders (28,119). Maryland had the fewest (7,290).
The full study can be seen here.
(PHOTO: A Secure Life)
