In the Dark: Stranger Danger
In the 1970s and early '80s, missing children weren't considered a policing priority. You couldn't even enter missing child information into the FBI's national crime database. But that changed quickly.
he 1994 Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act created just such a requirement. But that was only the beginning. Over the years, the notion of keeping track of sex offenders has grown into something much larger and harsher. The Wetterling Act opened the door to a nationwide crackdown. Today, sex offenders are treated like hazardous waste, like toxic people to be kept as far from others as possible. In many places, they may not live near schools or parks or daycare centers. In Miami, these restrictions mean they sleep in their cars in a remote parking lot.