Crime holds the top spot this week
And, rightfully so. There's nothing like a rash of potentially sexually-motivated crimes to creep out just about anyone.
Many in our community are worried about what police are describing as behaviors that fall in line with those of sex offenses.
Perpetrators peeping into windows late at night and exposing themselves to unwitting homeowners seem to fit the bill.
It raises the question of whether or not there is any relationship between recent incidents and registered sex offenders who call our community home.
It also leads to additional questions of whose responsibility it is to ask these questions, research the answers and protect our neighborhoods.
Armed with public information that's available to anyone with a computer, LH Today searched the Texas Department of Safety's Crime Records for registered sex offenders. Here's what we found:
In the 3 zip codes that encompass Lake Highlands, there are a total of 184 registered sex offenders in our community.
19 in zip code 75238; 70 in zip code 75231; and 95 in zip code 75243.
Relative to the overall population of Lake Highlands it should offer some comfort. But, does it really?
Seems it might just raise more questions, like who's responsible for keeping tabs on these sex offenders and what can people do to empower and inform themselves and their family members about the issue?
LH Today put in a call to Tim Clark, Director of Communications for RISD, to inquire about the district's official policy for notifying residents of the district when sex offenders register in their neighborhood.
"When a sex offender registers in an area, the Dallas Police Department notifies the school district associated with the registrant's address," says Clark.
"The RISD Student Services Department in turn notifies the schools within that specific area, taking into account the closest attendance zones."
"By law a school district is required to notify all student families only when a registered sex offender is the parent of a child enrolled in the particular school in question," he says. "Or in the case of secondary schools, when a student is the offender in question."
