Pink Plates Proposed For Sex Offenders

Yellow Plates Already In Use For Drunken Drivers

Personally, I think day-glo orange plates might be better, but anything that gets the message out is good I guess.

From Officer.com, story originally by nbc4i.com

Pink (car license) Plates Proposed For Sex Offenders

Yellow Plates Already In Use For Drunken Drivers

POSTED: 5:33 p.m. EDT April 27, 2005
UPDATED: 7:59 p.m. EDT April 27, 2005

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Some Ohioans convicted of drunken driving can be seen driving vehicles with yellow license plates. If one Ohio lawmaker has his way, sexual predators could soon have to drive vehicles with pink license plates, NBC 4's Erin Tate reported.
The bright yellow license plates help law enforcement officers recognize drivers with multiple DUI convictions.
"We've sold over 16,000 in the past five years," said Fred Stratmann, of the Ohio Department of Public Safety.
The pink plates could help notify police -- and parents -- of another type of offender.
"It identifies them," said Rep. Michael DeBose, (D) 12th District. "The primary reason they can prey is because they're camouflaged from who they really are."
DeBose introduced a bill this week in the Ohio House suggesting mandatory pink license plates for sexual offenders so children know to stay away, Tate reported.
"There's such a problem -- around rec centers, parks, school yards," he said. "There's no way to identify them and to protect children."
DeBose wants tough penalties for sexual predators who try to disguise themselves by removing their plates.
The Ohio Department of Public Safety isn't sure a sexual offense warrants a special plate as much as a drunken driving conviction does, Tate reported.
But DuBose said this crime deserves the color.
"It may act as a deterrent to keep them from driving around and causing trouble," he said.

... more at linked article (or at the nbc4i.com site. linked)

A friend recently told me about a web site for the State of Maryland, (linked) http://www.dpscs.state.md.us/sorSearch/ that can be used to search for information about known sexual predators in any given neighborhood, and also can be used to search for employed sexual predators that are known to be working in school systems. The results of such searches can be pretty alarming.

Personally I applaud the foward thinking law-makers in Ohio that are exploring the option of helping to make it easier to identify these predators so that citizens in these areas can be aware of the need to be more cautious and more protective of themselves and their children. I know I would want to know if I had a neighbor I should be worried about.

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