Popular Internet social network MySpace said on Tuesday it detected and deleted 29,000 convicted sex offenders on its service, more than four times the figure it had initially reported.
The company, owned by media conglomerate News Corp, said in May it had deleted about 7,000 user profiles that belonged to convicted offenders. MySpace attracts about 60 million unique visitors monthly in the United States.
The new information was first revealed by U.S. state authorities after MySpace turned over information on convicted sex offenders it had removed from the service.
"The exploding epidemic of sex offender profiles on MySpace -- 29,000 and counting -- screams for action," Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said in a statement.
Blumenthal, who led a coalition of state authorities to lobby MySpace for more stringent safeguards for minors, and other state AGs have demanded the service begin verifying a user's age and require parental permission for minors.
The minimum age to register on MySpace is 14.
"We're pleased that we've successfully identified and removed registered sex offenders from our site and hope that other social networking sites follow our lead," MySpace Chief Security Officer Hemanshu Nigam said in a statement.
The service has come under attack over the past year after some of its young members fell prey to adult predators posing as minors. The families of several teenage girls sexually assaulted by MySpace members sued the service in January for failing to safeguard its young members.
Late last year, it struck a partnership with background verification company Sentinel Tech Holdings Corp. to co-develop the first U.S. national database of convicted sex offenders to make it easier to track offenders on the Internet.
Convicted sex offenders are required by law to register their contact information with local authorities. But the information has only been available on regional databases, making nationwide searches difficult.
As of May, there were about 600,000 registered sex offenders in the United States.
For parents: Learn how to better protect your childrenFor parents:
For kids: Don't believe the type
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Fairfax County police are on the lookout for a man who assaulted a teenage girl in Franconia.
Investigators say the 13-year-old girl from Alexandria was walking home Monday evening on the 5,900 block of Franconia Road (near the intersection of Franconia and Van Dorn) when a man on a bicycle went to attack her.
Police say the suspect got off his bike and grabbed the teen from behind in a bear hug. Officers say the girl elbowed the suspect and broke free. She then kicked the suspect and ran away unharmed.
The suspect was described only as about 5'9" tall with short brown hair and a lot of freckles. He was wearing a white baseball cap, blue jeans and possibly a white T-shirt.
Police are asking anyone with information to call Crime Solvers at 1-866-411-TIPS(8477) or 703-691-2131.
Be sure to join us on Tuesday, July 31st @ 7pm at the Franconia Government Center for a Child Safety Presentation so Greenwood children can learn techniques to defend themselves should a stranger approach. Bring a friend and come hungry as we will be serving pizza for all. A parent or guardian must accompany children under 16 years of age.
Police say the suspect got off his bike and grabbed the teen from behind in a bear hug. Officers say the girl elbowed the suspect and broke free. She then kicked the suspect and ran away unharmed.
The suspect was described only as about 5'9" tall with short brown hair and a lot of freckles. He was wearing a white baseball cap, blue jeans and possibly a white T-shirt.
Police are asking anyone with information to call Crime Solvers at 1-866-411-TIPS(8477) or 703-691-2131.
Be sure to join us on Tuesday, July 31st @ 7pm at the Franconia Government Center for a Child Safety Presentation so Greenwood children can learn techniques to defend themselves should a stranger approach. Bring a friend and come hungry as we will be serving pizza for all. A parent or guardian must accompany children under 16 years of age.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Buy a shredder!
Think you are safe tearing up your pre approved credit card applications received in the mail?
Would any credit card company be irresponsible enough to approve this torn application?
Click here to read how easy it is for your identity to be stolen.
Would any credit card company be irresponsible enough to approve this torn application?
Click here to read how easy it is for your identity to be stolen.
Metro Safety
Metro Transit Police have arrested four area men for allegedly breaking into more than 50 vehicles in a Fairfax County Metro station parking garage.
Police say the four broke into 52 vehicles in June and stole more than 100 items, including global positioning systems, car televisions and even a sports utility vehicle. All of the thefts occurred at the 5,069 space parking garage at the Franconia-Springfield station in Springfield, Va.
According to detectives, the men arrived together in a vehicle and visited each floor of the garage, breaking into cars.
“Two officers from the auto theft detail spotted three of the suspects breaking into some vehicles in late June and immediately arrested two of the men. Video of the third suspect at the station and interviews assisted us in tracking down the other suspects,” said Capt. David Webb, commander of the criminal investigation division.
Police arrested Maurice Conyers, 22, of Southeast Washington and Darryl Walker, 20, of Hagerstown, Md., on June 25. Randy Smith, 19, of Northeast Washington, and Kevin Wilson, 22, of Northeast Washington, were arrested last Friday. The men face several charges, including grand larceny in Fairfax County.
Transit Police remind motorists to not leave valuables in their vehicles and use anti-theft devices, such as alarms, steering wheel locks and window etching.
For more information on how to prevent auto theft click here
According to Fairfax County Police - it is important to report any items stolen no matter how small. Many times an officer will be in a situation where they believe a suspect is in possession of stolen items, but if a report has not been filed on the items in question, no arrests can be made.
Police say the four broke into 52 vehicles in June and stole more than 100 items, including global positioning systems, car televisions and even a sports utility vehicle. All of the thefts occurred at the 5,069 space parking garage at the Franconia-Springfield station in Springfield, Va.
According to detectives, the men arrived together in a vehicle and visited each floor of the garage, breaking into cars.
“Two officers from the auto theft detail spotted three of the suspects breaking into some vehicles in late June and immediately arrested two of the men. Video of the third suspect at the station and interviews assisted us in tracking down the other suspects,” said Capt. David Webb, commander of the criminal investigation division.
Police arrested Maurice Conyers, 22, of Southeast Washington and Darryl Walker, 20, of Hagerstown, Md., on June 25. Randy Smith, 19, of Northeast Washington, and Kevin Wilson, 22, of Northeast Washington, were arrested last Friday. The men face several charges, including grand larceny in Fairfax County.
Transit Police remind motorists to not leave valuables in their vehicles and use anti-theft devices, such as alarms, steering wheel locks and window etching.
For more information on how to prevent auto theft click here
According to Fairfax County Police - it is important to report any items stolen no matter how small. Many times an officer will be in a situation where they believe a suspect is in possession of stolen items, but if a report has not been filed on the items in question, no arrests can be made.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)