Some residents in the Auckland suburb of Otara have told the Department of Corrections they will try to track down a convicted child sex offender who has been released into their community.
About 50 people turned out to a hui in the suburb on Thursday night to discuss what they say was inadequate consultation about the man's relocation to their neighbourhood.
They are concerned that only a handful of people were warned the man was being moved there and now lives near three schools and six kohanga reo centres.
The Department of Corrections says the man was nearing the end of his jail term for committing a sexual act on a person under the age of 16 so had to be released from prison.
Vigilante action has been threatened, but the department says it will work with the police to ensure the man is kept safe and to prevent residents committing a crime.
The department's Waitemata area manager, Alastair Riach, says it is important the man is at a location where he is monitored and where his sentence can be managed well, and a witchhunt should be avoided.
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