SHERMAN, TEXAS - Everyday hundreds of kids around Texoma head to school not knowing that dozens of sex offenders are just a few steps away from them. Now there's a tool that makes it easier for parents to track those offenders and keep children safe. Its called offender locator and you can install it on your phone for free. It not only reveals pictures and addresses of local offenders, it also shows some pretty startling information about how many of them live just minutes away from parks, daycares and even schools.

Rachel Kerns is a mother of three.
She comes to Fairview Park in Sherman almost every day.
But after having a close encounter with a sex offender near her home, she's extra careful about her kids safety.

"We have a creek in the backyard and the kids were playing in the creek and they told me they saw him walking nude on his property and we looked it up and he was an offender," said Kerns.

Using this mobile app called offender locator we found more than a dozen offenders live minutes away from Fairview.
Even more startling, the park is right across the street from a school.

At one of the Sherman intermediate schools we found that more than 30 sex offenders live just minutes away from the school.
The closet one is .6 miles away. And that raises the question what can we do to keep our kids safe?

"We have a city ordinance that prohibits a specified sex offender from living within 1500 feet near a school, daycare or area where kids commonly congregate," said Sgt. Bruce Dawsey of Sherman Police Department.

That 1500 feet is approximately .2 miles.
And the ordinance, which took affect in Sherman in 2006, just prohibits offenders from moving into a new residence less than .2 miles from a school.
If they lived there before the ordinance started they are grand-fathered in.
That's why police say in cases of sex offenders living to close for comfort parents must be aware of their child's surroundings.

"Knowledge is power so if you know where you have a sex offender in your neighborhood it's a good idea to know that," said Sgt. Dawsey.

Sherman police patrol parks and other areas where a lot of kids hang out.
But experts say its difficult to rehabilitate sex offenders, which often means a stint in prison doesn't solve their problem.
So essentially most of the responsibility falls on parents, who can look on the web or install mobile apps like offender locator.
And most importantly parents should talk to their kids about the dangers that exist with sexual predators.

"As long as you know the risks that are out there and you are aware of your surroundings and you let your kids know, chances are they will be ok," said Sgt. Dawsey.

For more information on how to prevent sex crimes you can visit:
http://www.endsexcrime.org/awareness.html#Authorityfigures

To find sex offenders visit:
https://records.txdps.state.tx.us/DPS_WEB/SorNew/index.aspx
http://docapp8.doc.state.ok.us/servlet/page?_pageid=190&_dad=portal30&_schema=PORTAL30
http://www.co.grayson.tx.us/Sheriff/SexOffenders/ShrfSex.htm