DAVIDSON COUNTY, N.C. -- In Davidson County Sheriff Grice says In the summer School Resource Officers (SROs) utilize some of their time by tracking down sex offenders.
Sex Offenders by law aren't allowed to live within 1000 feet of a school.
So in the Summer, Triad law enforcement use their S-R-Os to make sure sex offenders are following the rules.
"We have 347. That may not sound like many when you have a whole county, but that's a lot of sex offenders for our guys to check. I check them all year round, but the SRO's check specifically during the Summer," said Davidson County Deputy, Savanna Barrett.
347 Sex offenders living throughout Davidson County.
That's why Davidson, along with Guilford, and Rockingham Counties recruit some of their School Resource Officers to help check in on sex offenders and make sure they are where they say they are.
Sometimes they'll move without letting Deputies know, they might lie about where they live, or where they live might be within one of those restricted areas.
All violations are felonies.
"They know the rules. They know the laws. They know what they're supposed to do. Some of them will make up excuses to persuade us otherwise, but at the end of the day that's our job. We got to protect the children of the community," said Deputy Barrett.
Deputy Barrett knows it isn't an easy process for these folks to get back into the community.
It's not just schools they can't be near.
Parks, Zoos, even gym's with dedicated Daycares, sex offenders cant go near them.
Even though they have a record, Deputy Barrett says she knows they're people too and treats them accordingly.
While law enforcement is stepping up in the summer you can also do things to be proactive.
The sex offender registry is public record and you can search it.
Click on NC Sex Offender Registry to check your area or county
The Sheriff's Office make visits to about 300 on the registry in Davidson County to make sure they're not closer than 1,000 feet of a school.
They work to verify their address through these visits at random times and in the evening.
Sometimes sex offenders will put their family's address down and when SROs check on them, the family will lie about their whereabouts.
So far they've found five violations this year.
Several other Triad Counties also conduct these check-ins, like Guilford and Rockingham.
Click on NC Sex Offender Registry to check your area or county