LOUISVILLE — Police put sex offenders living in Jefferson County on notice Friday that their whereabouts will be more closely monitored, and they backed up the warning with action.

        Officers searched for nearly two dozen sex offenders accused of failing to properly register as required by state law.

        Eighteen sex offenders were indicted Thursday for allegedly failing to register properly, a felony punishable by one to five years in prison. Five other offenders were wanted by probation and parole officials for improperly registering, police said.

        Mug shots of the 23 men were displayed at a news conference. Authorities asked the public to be on the lookout for the offenders and to call police with tips.

        By Friday afternoon, the search had found five of the men, said Detective Bill Keeling.

        Police received a tip that led to the arrest of one of the offenders, who was found with marijuana, Detective Keeling said. Police apprehended three others after finding evidence at the residences where the men were supposed to be living, he said. Another offender turned out to be in jail already for an unrelated offense, he said.

        Jefferson County Commonwealth Attorney David Stengel said the roundup signaled close teamwork among law enforcement and prosecutors to keep track of sex offenders in city neighborhoods.

        “The bottom line is experience has told all of us in law enforcement that these kind of people repeat offend,” Mr. Stengel said. “And while we can't and shouldn't use that in the trial of those persons as an indicator of guilt, we can certain ly use our common sense and track them and make sure we know where they are and that the community knows where they are so we know what to look for if something in that area happened.”

        Kentucky first enacted a sex-offender registration law in 1994. The law later was amended to toughen the registration rules.

        The statute is known as “Megan's Law,” named for a New Jersey child who was raped and murdered by a repeat sex offender released without public notice into her neighborhood.

        Under Kentucky's law, felony sex offenders must register their addresses with the state for 10 years or a lifetime, depending on the severity of their crimes. Sex offenders' names, addresses and crimes are available for public viewing on the Internet.

        According to records, 414 registered sex offenders live in Louisville or Jefferson County, said city police Lt. Joe Richardson. Among them, the residences of some 50 offenders are listed as unknown.

        Much of the tracking of the sex offenders will fall to police officers working neighborhood beats. Their work will augment monitoring by Kentucky State Police and probation and parole officers. Beat officers will knock on the doors of sex offenders to ensure they live at addresses listed, city Police Chief Greg Smith said.

        Chief Smith said the greater collaborative effort by law enforcement should pay off but won't be foolproof.

        “Obviously there are going to be some people we can't find and some people who aren't going to comply,” he said. “Those that we catch we need to clearly send a message that this is the law and we're going to enforce it.”

Internet appeal for sick girl goes awry
Deters gives up bid for attorney general
Hispanics miss family at holidays
Santa gives out joy he missed as a kid
UC adding sprinklers to temporary buildings
Cincinnati city government is restructured
Local Digest
Police help Santa deliver gifts
THOMPSON: Church opening Sunday
Colerain residents surveyed about streams
Congrats
McNUTT: Old-style readers form group
Sales tax might go on ballot
Boy, 16, accused of threat to kill teacher
Fairfield levy postponed
MRDD purchasers won't be prosecuted
Deerfield showing meetings on cable
NKU gets fed money to study Underground Railroad
Institutes lay study groundwork
Police looking for slaying victim's car
Special prosecutor named in shooting case
Chamber offers political classes
Kentucky Digest
Mediator appointed for Dayton school case
New power plants OK for air, report says
Police promise close monitoring of sex offenders
Smokers can't get tobacco money
Transit agency faces up to scandals