Citizens may keep their families safer by knowing where registered sex offenders live in Rutherford County, thanks to a new Website offered by Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office, said Sheriff Robert Arnold.

The Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office is the first law enforcement agency in Tennessee to implement Offender Watch in Tennessee, Sheriff Arnold said. Other agencies are considering joining the Offender Watch Web site.

The Offender Watch Web site at this link (Click Here) allows citizens to identify registered sex offenders and where they live.

“We believe this will be another tool for citizens to protect their children from registered sex offenders,” Sheriff Arnold said.

Several hundred registered sex offenders live in Rutherford County. The Web site includes the names, photographs and addresses of the 88 sex offenders supervised by Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office.

Citizens may search for offenders within the area of any address. Citizens can also search for a sex offender by name.

Another feature of the Web site is that citizens may sign up for free automatic email notifications if a sex offender moves in the neighborhood.

“These notifications are extremely important if you want to stay fully informed,” Sheriff Arnold said. “You can register the address of friends, a baby sitter or family members as well where your children visit. It allows us to monitor these addresses for you to keep you up-to-date about newly-registered offenders.”

To register, click on the link “locate registered sex offenders” and follow the instructions for the email alerts.

Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office maintains this Web site as a community service. Included in the site are safety tips that address ways parents can talk to children about sexual abuse, behavior to watch and warning signs.

Under the Safety Tips link, parents may also review and print community awareness fliers covering topics like Halloween safety, Internet safety and protecting families.