CA to Notify Public if Sex Offenders Flee

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) _ Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is ordering corrections officials to alert the public when a sex offender parolee slips away from supervision.

The order Wednesday follows recent incidents in Bakersfield and San Diego County. Parolees there are charged with attacking teenage girls after the felons discarded GPS-linked ankle bracelets that track their movements.

Corrections spokesman Gordon Hinkle said the department already notifies law enforcement agencies when parolees disappear.

Hinkle said the department is likely to follow Schwarzenegger's order by posting information about the missing parolees on a public website.

He said between 20 and 60 parolees flee in a typical month. He could not immediately say how many of the missing parolees were convicted of sex offenses.