By ANDY GARDNER

MASSENA -- Residents in Massena can now take advantage of OffenderWatch, an online program that tells what sex offenders are living in a neighborhood, Village Police Chief Timmy Currier said.

By signing up for free, one can also receive email alerts when an offender moves within two miles of their address.

"Being aware of where sex offenders are living is vital to keeping our citizens more safe and this program allows people to stay informed," Currier wrote via email.

OffenderWatch lists information for level 2 and 3 sex offenders. Level 3 means they are considered a high risk to re-offend. Level 1 means minimal risk and by law, their information is not made public, according to Currier.

The St. Lawrence County Sheriff's Department uses the same program. It is not limited to Massena.

The site includes a section for non-compliant offenders. This means when they are not living where they are supposed to be, it will be displayed on that portion of the site.

“Level 3 sex offenders … are required to physically come [to the police station] every three months and verify their address,” Currier said. “We also do random checks to verify their address.”

Some using the site may notice that a sex offender that comes up will not have an address listed. That could be because they committed their crime prior to when the sex offender registry was created, Currier said.

The police chief said part of the reason he wants the public to be aware of the sex offender search is he has heard concerns from the public that Bob's Motel on Trippany Road houses seven sex offenders and it is within a mile of Holy Name of Jesus Academy.

In Massena, there are 48 registered sex offenders in Massena. Eight are level 3, 19 are level 2 and 21 that are classified as level 1, according to Currier.

OffenderWatch can be found by going to www.massenapd.com and clicking on the box that says "sex offenders search." To sign up for email notifications, click the box at the top of that page that says "sign up for email alerts."