State police and mental health officials say a proposition to add "risk assessments" to the state's sex-offender registry may be unreliable and could provide the public with a false sense of security.

CHICAGO — State and federal laws intended to monitor released sex offenders and protect the public actually "may cause more harm than good," a study by Human Rights Watch released Wednesday contends.

Cindy Yale, returning from lunch in September to her job as school secretary at Glendale Elementary School in Glen Burnie, spotted a man lingering at the flagpole outside. Recognition came quickly. He ...