"We are the first city in California to put in-depth information on the Internet," said Vice Mayor Pat Dando, the District 10 councilwoman who was instrumental in getting the information on the Internet. "It is there to protect families and children."

The new link, which includes a mapping connection that allows residents to locate their ZIP-code area and see if any high-risk offenders are living nearby, can be found on the San Jose Police Department's home page, www.sjpd.org.

Almaden Valley's 95120 ZIP code has no high-risk offenders, and the one offender, Gary Martinez, identified on the map for the area's 95118 ZIP code is currently incarcerated in the Santa Clara County main jail, according to the website.

A link on the bottom left of the police department's home page says, "High Risk Sex Offender Mapping." The main page of the mapping site explains Megan's Law and the conditions to which the information can and cannot be used. The next page provides a link to statistics, frequently asked questions, legal issues, and at the bottom a map icon that links to the ZIP-code locations. There is a series of red dots, one dot to represent each sex offender and indicate the general location where each offender lives. When the red dot is clicked, a more detailed map appears, with a pointer to the location, giving the offender's name and the street's name. Each of those detailed maps can then be clicked to get more information about the offender, which includes a photo, brief physical description, date of birth, street and block number—the exact address is not given to protect individuals from a "deluge" or "vandalism." The information also provides a description of the registered crimes, including whether the assault had been committed on an adult or child.

"They victimize the most fragile of our community," Dando says, "mostly those under 14."

A "high-risk" sex offender is a person convicted of multiple violent crimes, at least one of which was a violent sex crime, and a "serious" sex offender has been convicted of misdemeanor child molestation or a felony sex offense. Officials say they are only listing the high-risk offenders at this time because those individuals have the highest rate of recidivism and the department has the means to focus on and track that group.

"We want to make sure we are using our resources wisely," says Rob Davis, San Jose deputy police chief.

According to recent reports in the San Jose Mercury News, California has one of the least accurate and least informative Megan's Law databases in the country. Megan's Law was named after Megan Kanka, a 7-year-old girl who was raped and killed by a known child molester who had, unbeknownst to her parents, moved in across the street from Megan's home. Enacted in 1996, the law was designed to provide the public with certain information about the location of dangerous sex offenders.

The program, which cost the city $300 for the software, was approved by the city council in November. The data will be updated every two weeks to keep up with offenders' relocation or re-incarceration movements by the six-member "290 Team," so named for the penal code section, 290, which states that sex offenders must register with local authorities.

The information is currently only available in English, but Davis said plans are under way to translate the data into Spanish and Vietnamese soon. In the meantime, people can go to the police station and ask for translated information or call the station for more information. Before the website was available, a visit to the department, which has limited hours, was the only way to obtain that information. People can still do that and can access information on about 2,300 "serious" sex offenders.

Cindy Chavez, District 3 councilwoman, said the San Jose Police Department is "always pushing the envelope" to find ways to keep the community safe.

"We want offenders to know that while they are living in the county that they are not anonymous," she said. "This will keep them accountable."