The purpose of Utah's sex offender registry is to let people know about potential threats in their community. In the 10 years since it was created, about 6,500 people have been listed.

But the registry is only as good as the information it contains. If an offender's address is not current, the registry's usefulness is diminished. It may give some people a false sense of security, or it may cause people to shun an otherwise innocent person who has the misfortune of living at a house still listed as a sex offender's home.

The Department of Corrections has estimated the error rate at 10-20 percent. Part of the problem of keeping information up to date is that the state relies on sex offenders to register a new address. If an offender moves without giving a change of address to the state, he effectively disappears from the radar screen. The state does not have the resources to keep tabs on everybody.

But Rep. Brad Dee, R-Washington Heights, has an idea to make the registry more accurate and ease the burden on corrections staff. Dee's bill, House Bill 158, would require sex offenders to renew their driver's licenses and state identification cards in person every year. Currently, all drivers renew licenses every five years and must appear only every 10 years at a DMV office if they maintain good driving records.

While the bill will cost the state an additional $40,000 for someone to administer the program, Dee anticipates that annual renewal fees from sex offenders will make up for it. The bill has received committee support and is now awaiting a vote in the House of Representatives.

It seems like a reasonable idea. While a convicted sex offender may try to duck the registry, he may be less inclined to skip renewing his driver's license. Without a driver's license or state ID card, it is hard to get a job, write a check or perform other tasks requiring government-issued identification.

The license records would provide the most accurate information on an offender's address, since the offender would have to show proof of registry when he renews. It also eliminates the need for corrections staff to go through the registry and verify information to find out who has moved without reporting.

Instead, Dee's bill focuses the attention on those who did not renew their driver's licenses or state ID cards, making it a smaller pool to work with than having to go over the entire registry to find incorrect addresses.

For the public, this bill would mean more accurate information on the location of sex offenders in a community. This was the reason the registry was created in the first place.

But even if total accuracy could be achieved, parents should not rely upon it alone. Just because the registry shows there are no offenders in a neighborhood does not mean that there are none. Only those who have been caught and convicted are listed.

The registry is just one tool parents can use to keep their children safe, but it should not replace common-sense precautions such as telling kids to not get into strangers' cars.

Common sense for the Legislature means passing this bill.