SAN DIEGO -- San Diego County officials Monday introduced a comprehensive online service to let county residents find the general area where convicted sex-crime offenders live.

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10NEWS VIDEO Map Will Offer Approximate Locations SEX OFFENDER MAPS City Of San Diego Map San Diego County Map

Supervisor Dianne Jacob and Sheriff Bill Kolender unveiled the Regional Sex Offender Pin Map, designed to track "serious" and "high risk" felons countywide.

The map doesn't contain names, addresses or specifics on subjects' backgrounds.

Click Here To View The County's Sex Offender Map

Jacob said sex offenders are one of the most difficult "criminal populations" to rehabilitate.

"That's why when the sex offender is released into the community, there is an automatic risk to the people of that community," Jacob said.

"It is crucial that San Diego County use all legal measures possible to protect our residents -- especially our kids -- from sex offenders," she said. "The risks are simply too great."

This is the first countywide sex offender pin map in the state, according to the county. The city of San Diego also provides a pin map.

The county's map includes the city of San Diego and the 17 other incorporated cities in the region, and the unincorporated areas of the county.

The network identifies general areas where registered offenders reside -- within a half-mile radius -- via links with the Automated Regional Justice Information System.

Map users should keep in mind that it is illegal to employ the facts they glean from it to harass or discriminate against a registrant, sheriff's Lt. Lisa Miller said.

"A person is authorized to use this information only to protect himself or herself, or their children who may be at risk," she said.

More specific information related to Megan's Law, which requires certain sex offenders to register where they live, can be found at certain area police and sherfiff's stations.