Making a difference with data

Interesting piece in the New York Times about moves to create online registers of convicted offenders.

"Under a canine version of Megan’s Law, Virginia even registers dangerous dogs, including Elvis, a cat-killing collie in Roanoke whose bad acts are among those listed on the state’s database.

"Advocates for online registries, many of them searchable by the public, argue that people have a right to know about potentially dangerous offenders in their midst and that the benefit of alerting parents, neighbors and others in a community outweighs any privacy concerns.

"But as the registries proliferate, so do questions about their value."

Indeed.

There's more here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/21/us/21registry.html?_r=2&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha23