iPhone apps help track sex offenders

The Offender Locator app has been downloaded more than a million times, breaking into the top 10 most popular apps list on iTunes when it made its debut in June.

SHOOT: Great idea, but doubtful whether it will work in South Africa, where it is sorely needed. Why not? Because can we really rely on people accurately logging these crimes and criminals when our policing isn't even up to scratch, and that includes the admin relating to policing.

clipped from edition.cnn.com (CNN) -- Tracy Rodriguez of Houston, Texas, is not a trained private investigator or police officer. But with a gentle tap on her iPhone screen, the mother of three can access information revealing the sex offenders who live within a 10-mile radius of where her children practice sports or watch movies. The information, provided by an iPhone app called Offender Locator, helps Rodriguez make more informed choices, she says. When the app pops open on her phone, there is an eerie sketch of a man's face. Then, the app asks for an address. "I am constantly worrying about the well-being of my family," says Rodriguez, who uses the app several times daily. "You can't be too careful." They give ordinary citizens the capability to sleuth and guard themselves against crime. Users can conduct a background check during a dinner date or avoid walking through a high-crime area. So far, there have been more 541,000 downloads in 170 countries since the app was released in February.