New iPhone app shows sex offenders living nearby

RALEIGH (AP) — North Carolina now offers a phone application that allows people to find out if sex offenders live near them and their children.

The Department of Justice on Monday released a free mobile application that utilizes the GPS mapping feature built into the Apple iPhone and iPad to show the names, photos and homes of registered sex offenders living nearby.

Users can search for offenders within a 1, 3 or 5-mile radius of their present location and receive alerts whenever a registered offender moves in nearby.

The state's sex offender registry is already available on-line, but Attorney General Roy Cooper said the new app will provide critical safety information to families on the go. There was no word on whether a similar app will be released for Android users.