Please Won't You Not Be My Neighbor?

So my brother, for God knows what reason, decided to find out if any registered sex offenders live in his neighborhood in Harlem. Apparently, he lives within 1,000 feet of a guy who raped a 21 year old. I decided to check out my 'hood here and found out that the gentleman pictured at the right, who lives about two blocks from me, was convicted of criminal sexual assault a couple of years ago. There are also several other sex offenders who live within a mile of me.

I consider my neighborhood to be very safe, so it freaked me out a bit. I also plugged in the addresses of some other people I know who live in what I consider "safe" neighborhoods. Every one of them had a sexual offender living within a couple of blocks of them. There was an article in the Trib last week about how every block in Chicago with the exception of one reported a sexual assault in 2005. I've always been a bit naive about things like this because I live in a "good" neighborhood. I've never been one to look over my shoulder when I walk down the street. Knowing bona fide creepy dudes live so close to me probably won't change that, but at least it'll make me a little more aware, which can't be a bad thing.