We tip our hat to the Escambia County (Ala.) Sheriff's Office for following up on tips that have led to another sex offender put behind bars.
The latest culprit was 32-year old Danny Hayes of Brewton who was charged with two counts of violating the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act. Hayes apparently was working at a house in East Brewton that was less than 2,000 feet of a daycare center. Granted, Hayes was trying to be employed and earn a living, but he should have known better. We know he was given instructions from the court and from the sheriff's office when he registered.
Violations of the SORNA laws don't happen by accident. Those who are required to register have certain responsibilities that include checking in with the sheriff's office about where they live and where they work.
If they fail to comply with those regulations they get arrested. It's pretty cut and dry. They are supposed to be living at House X and the sheriff's office gets a tip that they are living as House Y. Investigation on.
Although we have a lot of good investigators at the sheriff's office and the municipal police departments across this area, they don't have a crystal ball.
It may shock you, but they can't be everywhere all the time. They get blamed for that sometimes but they really can only be one place at one time, much like a newspaper reporter.
Most investigations and crimes are solved or prevented by residents reaching out to the police or sheriff's office with information – it narrows their search.
Sheriff's deputies and police officers can only do so much to protect us, we need to pass information along to them.
If we've heard it once, we've heard it a thousand times – law enforcement would rather respond to 1,000 calls that turned out to be nothing than the one they didn't respond to that ended in tragedy.
We live in different times; if you see something out of the ordinary, call the police. Your tip could stop a thief or sexual predator.
