Oregon's Sex Offender Registration Program Manager says they look at this as the public's tool.
(SALEM, Ore.) - Following several media stories last week related to Halloween safety and registered sex offenders, Oregon's Sex Offender Inquiry System website recorded its third highest number of "hits" on a single day in 2007, state police say.
Adopted by the 2005 Oregon Legislature, House Bill 3486 required information on predatory and sexually violent dangerous offenders to be posted on a state website.
Oregon's public website, sexoffenders.oregon.gov, went online June 29, 2006 and provides citizens with an Internet tool to access public sex offender information on those who pose a high risk to others.
During the days leading up to Halloween, several print, radio and TV media organizations did stories encouraging parents to check their state's sex offender registry when planning trick-or-treat routes. Oregon State Police Sex Offender Registration program reported that many people did use this resource as Oregon's Sex Offender Inquiry System website recorded activity more than tripled in the days leading up to Halloween:October 29th....22,778 hitsOctober 30th....27,965 hitsOctober 31st....72,515 hits
When measuring Web traffic, a "hit" is counted each time a piece of artwork is loaded. So if a Website has many photos it will automatically have a higher hit count. If the site has only one image, a rarity, then the "hit" count is more in line with the actual "unique visitor" count.
Last year, there were 46,159 hits on the website Halloween day.
Oregon State Police Sex Offender Registration Program Manager Vi Beaty was very encouraged by the jump in website activity on Halloween. "We look at this as the public's tool. Usually we see a spike in website activity surrounding a highly publicized case, but this was different in that people were probably using it to increase their awareness of any addresses they should avoid while trick-or-treating with their children," said Vi Beaty, Sex Offender Registration Program Manager.
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The more-than 72,000 hits on October 31st is the third highest single day activity on the website this year. The highest recorded website activity occurred on August 21st when the website recorded 78,510 hits. The second highest day was on January 7th when there were 78,352 recorded hits.
Since January 2007, Oregon's Sex Offender Inquiry System website averages:26,343 hits per day183,373 hits per week 800,828 hits per month
A list of registered offenders can be obtained by calling the Oregon State Police at (503) 378-3725 ext. 44429 or by emailing a request to Sexoffender.Questions@state.or.us. In both instances, you will need to leave your name, mailing address, and the city zip code information for which you are interested.
More information about the Oregon State Police Sex Offender Registration Program is available at oregon.gov/OSP/SOR/index.shtml.Source: Oregon State Police
Halloween Spikes Oregon Sex Offender Website TrafficSalem-News.com