I’m from California, which, like many states, has a sex offender registry. It’s called Megan’s Law, and it allows users to enter their address and find the homes of nearby sex offenders. It even displays a picture of the offender, their crime, and any other pertinent information (tattoos, DOB, etc.). The way it works is not dissimilar from Yelp. These programs are fairly uncontroversial (no one wants to say things like “Hey, I think sex offenders should have an easier time!”), and they’re popular among voters. Still they creep me out/raise sort of unnerving questions about crime and punishment and recidivism and debts to society and haven’t you guys read The Scarlet Letter?
Anyway, one day I was visiting my parents in Southern California and I heard something about the registry and thought, “Hey, wouldn’t it be weird if someone went around and took pictures of these guys’ houses, and then captioned them with their crimes?” And then I said to myself: “You could be that someone.”
Most people I told about the project seemed simultaneously bored (because the pictures are of houses) and creeped out (because of everything else). Except my dad - he seemed pretty into it.
I like the pictures because they look like the worst real estate listings ever.
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