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from the how-about-being-aware-of-your-surroundings-instead? dept.
An unexpected catch:
In an informal investigation by Senators Jeffrey D. Klein and Diane J. Savino, staff members took a list of 100 registered sex offenders across New York City and compared it with locations where Pokémon Go players could collect virtual items or use other game features.
In 59 cases, those locations were within half a block of offenders' homes. The staff members, who played the game for two weeks, also found 57 Pokémon — which appear on players' phones as if they exist in the real world — near the offenders' homes, according to a report the senators released on Friday. Such overlap has been reported in other states, including California and North Carolina.
In New York, those discoveries prompted Mr. Klein, a Democrat who represents parts of the Bronx and Westchester County, and Ms. Savino, a Staten Island Democrat, to propose two pieces of legislation, scheduled to be introduced next week.
The first would prevent moderate or high-risk sex offenders from playing so-called augmented-reality games — like Pokémon Go — and the second would require the games' creators to cross-reference their virtual landscapes with lists of offenders' homes and remove any "in-game objective" within 100 feet of them.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 01 2016, @01:32AM
It's New York for crying out loud, what isn't within 100 feet of a sex offender.
(Score: 3, Funny) by Ethanol-fueled on Monday August 01 2016, @01:38AM
It smacks of hysteria and quite possibly a reaction-formation. I wouldn't be surprised to discover that Senator Klein is very, very active in both the Catholic church and the Boy Scouts while Senator Salvino is a girls' swim coach and volunteer judge for pre-teen beauty contests.
Uh, yeah, we see that.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Entropy on Monday August 01 2016, @03:59AM
It was "near" their home, not 100ft from their home. Near could be quite a bit farther. With many, many things being classified as sex crimes nowadays sexual offenders are pretty much everywhere. A kid down the street from me got caught with his 17 year old girlfriend's pic on his phone...he was 18 at the time. Guess what? He's a registered sex offender. Also--Who cares. It's like being a felon nowadays whereas at one time it was a big deal now it's pretty much any crime.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by NotSanguine on Monday August 01 2016, @04:50AM
Actually New York State ranks 40th (189 sex offender registrants per 100,000 population) [mysafelife.us] out of the fifty states plus DC in per capita registered sex offenders.
This is just a bunch of hysterical bullshit. It's an old and sordid tale:
Politician(s) want more publicity/visibility/look like they're actually doing something. So they latch on to the latest fad and gin up some statistical anomaly designed to scare the hell out of people. They then carefully explain why their plan will make your spouse/children/dog/goldfish *and* you safer. The result is, most likely, quotes in the media and some "$#%^ Sex offenders &%@# %$$^& @#*%" from the talking heads.
It's ridiculous on its face. This Bright Idea™ is both unworkable and dumb. Sigh.
No, no, you're not thinking; you're just being logical. --Niels Bohr
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 01 2016, @05:50AM
While I agree with the rest of your post, I just can't let this one thing slide... :)
Actually New York State ranks 40th (189 sex offender registrants per 100,000 population) out of the fifty states plus DC in per capita registered sex offenders.
What does that have to do with anything? Distance is not measured in peoples. If Alaska had a hundred times more registered sex offenders than New York, it would still be far less offenders per square mile than NY.
What you need is a ranking of "sex offender registrants per square mile"!
(Score: 2) by NotSanguine on Monday August 01 2016, @06:40AM
Actually New York State ranks 40th (189 sex offender registrants per 100,000 population) out of the fifty states plus DC in per capita registered sex offenders.
What does that have to do with anything? Distance is not measured in peoples. If Alaska had a hundred times more registered sex offenders than New York, it would still be far less offenders per square mile than NY.
What you need is a ranking of "sex offender registrants per square mile"!
It's interesting that you should mention Alaska, as it ranks 15th with 295 sex offender registrants per 100,000. Despite the fact that Alaska is the largest (in area) state, the vast majority of the population is concentrated in just a few areas [alaska.gov].
I'm not interested enough to go and compare the population densities for *inhabited* areas. I'm sure New York (and especially New York City) has a much higher overall population density. But since *most* people (even in Alaska) actually live near other people, the per capita numbers are much more descriptive, IMHO.
No, no, you're not thinking; you're just being logical. --Niels Bohr
(Score: 3, Interesting) by bzipitidoo on Monday August 01 2016, @02:28PM
It's election season. This sort of political activity, cracking down on sexual issues to pander to the social conservatives, always heats up before an election. They bust prostitutes and johns, harass topless bars and stores that sell porn and sex paraphernalia, and try harder to close abortion clinics. They will overstep the rules to do it too. A few clerks end up in jail for a few hours, which of course disrupts store sales. Usually they haven't done anything illegal and shouldn't have been arrested, and the government will hastily drop the charges in hopes of avoiding a lawsuit.
Watch and you'll see, the politicians will settle down after the election. Would be nice if we didn't have to put up with this nonsense, but that would require curing social conservatives of their mental issues, particularly their insecurities.