School district uses email to alert parents
The Bauxite School District is now using the
Arkansas Crime Information Center, or ACIC, to protect its students from sex offenders. Bauxite now gets instant emails letting them know if a sex offender has moved in close proximity to the school. As soon as they get that email they start notifying parents.
Right now, more than 9,000 sex offenders are registered in the State of Arkansas. Its a number that Christie Golleher does not want to hear. But she welcomes the news that Bauxite is now hooked up to the ACIC website to track sex offenders because she has two girls at Bauxite High School.
"So if they are visiting campus, we need to know where they are," said Golleher.
"It's a great safety net," said Bauxite superintendent Mickey Billingsley. He says ex offenders are hard to spot, they look like everyone else. That's why he made sure his district is just an email away from information that can protect his students because "in today's world, you never know."
When a sex offender moves within 80 square miles of Bauxite, superintendent Billingsley is notified via email. Within seconds, he begins alerting his staff.
"We can notify bus drivers, of any suspicious activity, and tell assistant principals, teachers, staff, it keeps everyone notified," said Mickey Billingsley.
What if I'm not in Bauxite?
If your child doesn't go to Bauxite, you can
find out if a sex offender lives in your neighborhood. Just type in your address and within seconds,you'll know. You can even receive instant email alerts.
Christie likes the speed of the program. "[I want to know] immediately," she said. "As soon as they know, I want to know."
The best part is, the program is free.
We called around to different cities to see just how many sex offenders are registered there. While more than 9,000 live in Arkansas, 1,612 live in Little Rock, 438 are in Conway, and Pine Bluff has 735.
To find out if a sex offender lives near you just go to
ACIC.org and fill in your address. Within seconds you will know if there is a sex offender living near you. If you would like to receive emails when a sex offender moves in you can sign up for the
ACIC email alerts.
