TACOMA - Dozens of residents in the city's hilltop neighborhood gathered at Peace Lutheran Church on Thursday to demand that all sex offenders be swept out of the community.

The residents have seen their share of brutal sex crimes. They live just blocks away from where 12-year-old Zina Linnik was kidnapped on the fourth of July. She was found dead several days later.

But keeping child predators off the streets may be easier said than done with the state's long list of registered sex offenders, not to mention those who fail to register.

Some residents point their fingers at police.

"I don't think we have to watch our kids everyday. When I was growing up, they didn't have to watch me everyday, " said Oscar Freeman, a parent. "The police should be up here, doing more patrolling."

Others say police can't do the job alone.

"I got the impression from them (the police) that were each passionate about what they were doing, but it's not their job solely; it's our job in the community. These are our children," said Shellidawn Carrol, a resident.

But most of all, those gathered wanted answers on how to keep their children safe.

Some experts warned that statistically, most children are attacked by someone in their own family. Others disagreed, saying parents have to be on the lookout for predators outside the home as well.

What the concerned parents found out is that there's no quick fix; a lot of hard work lay ahead.

"That's what I was feeling, like this whole community was overwhelmed with helplessness. No one was feeling empowered," Carrol said.

Several different statistics and numbers from the latest studies on sex offenders were presented at the meeting. No one could agree on the validity of those statistics, but everyone seemed to agree that the community will band together to keep an eye its children.