News and Information

Sex Offender School
WHDH-TV, Boston, Reported by: Chris May

October 18, 2005 – Your kids are probably getting ready for school and once they're in school, they're safe, or so you hope. But who's visiting their school during the day? A new computer program could tell whether or not a sex offender is in the building. 7's Chris May has more on this high-tech scanner.

Each day, thousands of visitors check in to Massachusetts's schools. Most are parents picking up their kids; some might be stocking a vending machine or delivering supplies. Could any of these be a sex offender?

State Representative Joe Driscoll of Braintree says, "They tend to be very intelligent, they tend to manipulate the system, and they'll game the system."

Now, a new software program called V-Soft, can scan a visitor's driver's license and within seconds, determine whether or not that person is a registered sex offender.

The President of Raptorware V-Soft, Allan Meason says, "It identifies some people that shouldn't be around children."

Schools in Florida, Texas and Idaho are now using the system. Administrators have been tipped off to hundreds of offenders visiting schools.

Deanie Tucker from American High School in North Miami says, "They're here in our school, that's the alarming part. And their purpose- why are they here?"

So how many sex offenders are visiting your child's school? Currently, this id scanner is not used in any New England schools. Joe Driscoll said, "It's so important to make sure that we come up with every imaginable protection that we can to keep our children safe."

For a start-up fee of $1500, V-Soft searches sex offender databases in Massachusetts and 41 other states. Several parents are surprised it's not here yet.

Joyce White of Milton said, "It sounds like a good opportunity for people to really know who's around." Allison Kelson of Quincy added, "If it's only $1500, I think it's definitely worth it."

"We can spare no expense when it comes to our children's safety," Driscoll believes.

The scanner is not foolproof. Its maker says the software will sometimes flag a regular citizen if they have a name that's similar to a sex offender. Usually, the misidentification can be cleared up within minutes.