The sex offender registry is a very public way of knowing who's been convicted of private crimes. Those found guilty of the most serious crimes must re-register every ninety days or face prosecution. And there's more...in New York State, the probationary periods are doubled -- and the restrictions are stringent. Convicted sex offenders are barred from working with children, picking-up hitch-hikers, even looking at pornography in their own home.

Onondaga County is about to take it a step further. The probation department just secured several hundred thousand dollars in state funding to begin administering lie detector tests to level two and level three offenders. Though the results would not admissible in court, they could be used to justify more monitoring and tougher restrictions.

You can look up sex offenders living in your community. Click here and we will link you to the New York State Sex Offender Registry.