Sex Offender Registry Office Settles on Main Street

Since the Harford County Sheriff’s Office moved its sex offender registration to a storefront in downtown Bel Air at the end of last year, the community has expressed varied reactions to the move.

The Harford County Sheriff’s Office Megan’s Law Unit, which handles registration of sex offenders, moved to 110 S. Main Street which used to house Bel Air Copy & Print Center.

The unadorned storefront has dark curtains on the windows and no sign on its facade.

This month, Patch featured a photo of the building as part of the . It triggered a passionate response from community members.

The move to the new space involved very little travel. The unit was previously located just up the street in .

“It’s been at Main Street for years,” said , public information officer with the Harford County Sheriff’s Office.

The new building moves sex offender registry traffic out of the heavily trafficked main lobby at headquarters, Worrell said.

Traffic through the Sheriff’s Office's main lobby includes those getting fingerprinted or people picking up copies of accident reports. It's not out of the ordinary for visitors to bring a child in tow, she added, making it a less than ideal area for sex offender registration.

“We needed space. It had been sitting vacant for entirely too long,” Worrell said  “We fixed up the building and people are working out of it.”

While the unit has long been operating on Main Street, the move was not entirely welcomed by some community members.

In December, sent out email updates noting the move, and stating, “we are taking several steps as a community organization to start a dialogue with Harford Co. and discuss our concerns about this move.”

Another concerned resident emailed Patch expressing concern about the new location’s proximity to , and .

How do you feel about the new location for the Megan's Law unit? Tell us in the comments.