VIDEO: Sex Offender Registry

Miss. (WCBI) – We think we know our neighbors, but behind some doors there are people whose backgrounds may surprise you.

The names and addresses of convicted sex offenders are published online.

The public record is there to make sure offenders follow the law.

When a convicted sex offender is released from jail, he or she needs someplace to go. There are laws about that.

And one more specific law : The individual also has to register

You can find them on this website: http://state.sor.dps.ms.gov/

People who have been convicted of sex offenses.

More than 200 convicted sexual offenders live in Lowndes, Oktibbeha and Webster Counties combined, and they are required to check in on a regular basis.

“They actually have to register with the Highway Patrol through their driver’s license agency every 30 days. They have to come here if they’re going to be away from their home for seven days, consecutive seven days. They have to notify us. They also have to notify wherever they’re going to be staying at,” said Webster County Chief Deputy, Jeff Mann.

The rules are strict when in comes to where they can live.

They can’t live within 1500 ft. of any building occupied by large numbers of children: schools, day cares, and churches.

Law enforcement takes a hands-on approach to that.

“We actually go to the home, make sure that that is their legal residence.They are staying there. Sometimes, we even interview the people, the other people that live in the home, just to make sure, you know, they’re telling the truth and that is their current residence,” said Mann.

Failure to check in with various agencies is not something law enforcement would advise.

“If we have an individual that has not checked in in 30 days and is out of compliance, I relay that onto our deputies,” said Webster County jailer, Janae Pittman.

“If they’re out of compliance, they’ll get charged with failure to register and keep up the registry as a sex offender here. It’s not necessarily a normal thing, but some of them do forget to register,” said Mann.

Information on names and addresses is open for everyone.

“All the files are public record, and anybody has access to them at any time. They can also go online to the state registry, sex offenders, and check each individual that lives in their county and how close of a proximity they are to their home,” said Pittman.

For Webster County, residents take full advantage of the information.

“We have a great community here that if anybody is out of compliance, we get phone calls. Our community really steps up and helps to keep us in compliance and them in compliance with everything,” said Pittman.

If you would like to check to see where in your area are sex offenders, you can visit http://state.sor.dps.ms.gov/ .