Community Watch

President Bush Signs Bill to Monitor Child Molesters

Bush Signs Bill to Monitor Child Molesters

By TOM RAUM
The Associated Press
Thursday, July 27, 2006; 6:54 PM

WASHINGTON -- President Bush, joined by "America's Most Wanted" host John Walsh, signed a new law Thursday that requires convicted child molesters to be listed on a national Internet database and face a felony charge for failing to update their whereabouts.

"Our nation grieves with every family that's suffered the unbearable pain of a child whose been abducted or abused," Bush said in a bill-signing ceremony in the Rose Garden. "This law takes an important step forward in this country's efforts to protect those who cannot protect themselves."

The measure was named for Walsh's 6-year-old son, Adam, who was abducted exactly 25 years ago Thursday, and subsequently murdered.

It aims to help police find more than 100,000 sex offenders by creating the first national online listing available to the public and searchable by ZIP code. It also called for harsh federal punishment for sexually assaulting children, including the possibility of the death penalty when a victim is murdered.

"Today is truly a family day for us," Walsh's wife, Reve, told reporters outside the West Wing following the event. "Adam's presence is felt here with us today. This is all about children. It tells children in our country that they are precious and are cared about _ even though they don't have any money, or vote or lobby _ that we will take care of them."

Bush said the new law will help prevent child abuse by creating the national child abuse registry, and requiring investigators to do background checks on adoptive and foster parents before they are approved to take custody of a child. Giving child protective services professionals in all 50 states access to this information will improve their ability to investigate their child abuse cases, he said.

"These improvements will help prevent sex offenders from evading detection by moving from one state to the next," Bush said.

Child advocates have called the bill the most sweeping sex offender legislation to target pedophiles in years. It would:

_Establish a comprehensive federal DNA database of material collected from convicted molesters, and procedures for the routine DNA collection and comparison to the database when someone has been convicted of such an offense.

_Provide federal funding for states to track pedophiles using global positioning devices.

_Allow victims of child abuse to sue their molesters.

The law imposes a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years for raping a child; a mandatory 10-year penalty for sex trafficking offenses involving children and for coercing child prostitution; and increases minimum sentences for molesters who travel between states.

Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., said the measure the president signed into law closes loopholes in current child Internet pornography laws. The senator and co-sponsor, Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., pushed to include what they dubbed "Masha's Law" into the legislation Bush signed.

Now 13, Masha Allen was adopted from a Russian orphanage at age 5 by a man who sexually abused her. Her abuser was convicted, yet her images on the Internet are being downloaded around the world.

"It's an absolute outrage that the penalty for downloading songs illegally off the Internet was three times the penalty for downloading disgusting images of children," Kerry said. "We need to do everything we can to end the disgrace of child pornography. This is a start."

The new law dramatically increases penalties for anyone who downloads child pornography off the Internet, raising the civil penalties from $50,000 to $150,000. It will also change existing law to allow victims ages 18 or older to recover damages from those who downloaded images of them taken while they were children.

Community Watch comments:

Finally...

Congress passes the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006

Attorney General Hails Passage of the Child Protection Act

Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales released the following statement today regarding Congressional passage of H.R. 4472, the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006:

"America's children will be better protected from every parent's worst nightmare - sexual predators - thanks to passage of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006.

I applaud both the House and Senate - and in particular the leadership of Chairman Specter in the Senate and Chairman Sensenbrenner in the House - for passing this comprehensive bill, which includes provisions proposed by the Department of Justice. The protection of our Nation's children has been, and will continue to be, one of the Department's highest priorities, and we believe this bill will help us do our job even better."

BACKGROUND

Important measures in the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act include:

* Providing statutory authorization for one of the Attorney General's major initiatives, Project Safe Childhood, which will be implemented through U.S. Attorney-led, locally designed partnerships of federal, state, and local law enforcement to investigate and prosecute technologically-facilitated crimes against children.

* Strengthening the national standards for sex offender registration and notification, including:

- Consistent requirements that convicted sex offenders register in the jurisdictions in which they live, work, or go to school, and periodically appear in person before officials of those jurisdictions to verify and update their registration information.

- Longer required registration periods for sex offenders, including registration for at least 25 years or for life for persons convicted of offenses involving sexual abuse or exploitation of children, for rapists, and for recidivists.

- More consistent availability to the public through the Internet of information concerning the identities and locations of sex offenders who are required to register.

* Enhancing the penalties for various federal violent crimes and sexual offenses against children.

* Authorizing the Attorney General to make grants to support pilot programs for electronic monitoring of released sex offenders, and to support effective civil commitment programs for mentally disordered or abnormal sex offenders who remain dangerous.

*Allowing the Attorney General to seek the federal civil commitment of sexually dangerous persons to treatment facilities until such time as they no longer pose a threat to other persons.

* Including the provisions of what is popularly known as "Masha's Law," to make it clear that adults who were victims of sexual exploitation when they were children can sue both those who initially committed the exploitation and those who perpetuate the exploitation by downloading the images of abuse.

* Enhancing recordkeeping requirements to ensure that minors are not depicted in sexually explicit material.

* Prohibiting the insidious practice engaged in by certain sexually explicit web sites of hiding innocuous terms in the hypertext markup language so that a search for those terms on the Internet yields links to the sexually explicit web sites.

Community Watch comments:

Excellent work on the legislation - now let's get moving on the National and State Initiatives.

Critics Look For Alternative to Sex Offender Civil Commitments

Critics Look For Alternative to Sex Offender Civil Commitments

Monday , July 10, 2006

By Kelley Beaucar Vlahos

   
WASHINGTON — Learning that a child has been abducted by a predator who was just let out of prison is a state official's worst nightmare.

So states have been under pressure to create laws to keep violent sexual predators off the street. No law, however, seems to be as controversial as that which allows civil commitments, a term describing the confinement of sex offenders to mental health facilities after they've completed their prison sentences.

The purpose of civil commitments is to attempt treatment on prisoners who are considered liable to commit their crimes again, and to release them after they have been deemed safe for society. For many of the country's most heinous offenders, this could mean a life sentence in lock-up.

While civil commitments is a popular idea for many law-abiding citizens, critics are grappling with the implications. They say, ethically and even constitutionally, these convicts should either be let go after doing their time or given longer minimum sentences at trial.

"We think [civil commitment] is the wrong way to go," said Michael Rushford, president of the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation in Sacramento, Calif. "Not because they shouldn’t hold on to these people, but we see it as a cumbersome way to do it."

"You don't want to mix violent sexual predators with people who have severe mental disorders," said Jeff Keller, deputy director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness of New York State.

"We understand that these people are dangerous and violent and shouldn’t be walking on the street, but we don’t want them thrown in with the mentally ill," he said.

Still other opponents, like the American Civil Liberties Union, say that civil commitments could lead to unfair confinements, taking sentencing out of the hands of a judge and jury and putting it into the hands of state lawmakers.

State officials appear to appreciate the concerns of these groups, but say they need to find an immediate solution to the challenge of releasing potential repeat offenders into local communities. The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld civil commitments for sex offenders.

"Are we supposed to wait and see if they go back and molest another child and then put them back into prison? I think government needs to have a reasonable response in these circumstances," said Chauncey Parker, New York State Director of Criminal Justice.

New York Gov. George Pataki has been trying to join the ranks of 16 other states and the District of Columbia in getting a civil commitments statute for sex offenders, and proposed legislation is pending in New York's Senate and General Assembly.

In the meantime, Pataki has been using the state's general civil commitments statute, which allows for the confinement of persons considered a danger to themselves and others, to apply to sex offenders.

The New York State Defenders Association says the legislation on the table is not acceptable in its current form.

"The proposed bills lack meaningful standards to guide judges and juries charged with applying the law, and would result in arbitrary lifetime confinement of persons with a low risk of re-offending," NYSDA said in a statement released June 6.

States Debate Civil Commitments

In Nebraska, Gov. Dave Heineman signed legislation in April that requires sex offenders to be evaluated for a mental illness or personality disorder that would suggest he or she is more likely to commit future acts of sexual violence and is unable to control his or her conduct. The law also requires notification of appropriate officials of an impending sex offender's release from prison so that a recommendation for civil commitment can be made.

As it continues its seven-year-old program of civil commitments, Virginia lawmakers are looking at ways to build separate facilities to house more offenders. However, the cost of the program is now aggravating the debate as more dangerous sex offenders finish their time.

Meanwhile, Parker said Pataki wants to build separate facilities for civil commitments to accommodate the concerns of the mental health community and to reduce cost. But with upwards of 5,000 sex offenders due for release this year, the governor will continue to commit the most dangerous of them to mental health facilities for now, said Parker.

"If there is a sexually violent predator who is such a risk to others that they are going to molest or rape again, what do the people expect government to do?" he asked, noting that under the law, it takes a total of three doctors and a series of hearings to have someone committed, and the offender is allowed to have an attorney. Treatment is continued throughout the confinement.

But detractors say confining sex offenders to mental health facilities after they have done their time is a misguided drain on resources and has the potential for abuse.

It also adds to the unfair stigma already attached to the mentally ill, say many mental health professionals who argue that not all sex offenders are mentally ill nor can all sex offenders be cured.

Putting predators into state mental facilities would be expensive and dangerous to others, said Keller, at New York's mental illness alliance.

Longer Jail Sentences

Federal studies comparing sex offender and non-sex offender recidivism rates are rare, and a November 2003 study by the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics cites data collected from 15 states only up until 1994.

It finds that within three years following their release from state prisons, 5.3 percent of sex offenders — men who had committed rape or sexual assault — were rearrested for another sex crime, and 43 percent were rearrested for other general crimes. That rate is lower than non-sex offenders, of whom 68 percent were rearrested for any offense. But of those non-sex offenders, only 1.3 percent were arrested again for sex offenses.

In a 2003 study of 89 released sex offenders who had qualified for the Washington State's civil commitment program but were never confined, researchers found that 57 were re-arrested on new felony charges, with 40 percent of them arrested for contact crimes, including a sexual offense. At the end of the six-year follow-up period, almost half were incarcerated

"There is an ethical question there, but we do know that sex offenders are the most likely of offenders to recidivate," or repeat their crimes after release, said Joe de Raismes, vice chairman for public policy for the National Mental Health Association, which is a proponent of keeping dangerous sex offenders in a criminal setting.

Rushford and others say stiffer minimum sentences, perhaps including "indeterminate" jail time, would allow states to keep offenders in prison if they felt the individuals might repeat their crimes once on the outside. State officials say they are increasingly looking toward revising the state penal codes to allow for that option or to avoid civil commitments altogether.

"We're moving in that direction," said Brian Relay, who works in the office of the ombudsman for Minnesota's Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities division.

Minnesota has been confining sex offenders to prisons since 1990, and has not yet released any of them, according to Relay.

"It was for the protection of society that they needed to further incarcerate [sex offenders] and attempt to treat them," he said, adding that the state has increased minimum sentencing requirements in recent years and is also looking at separate facilities for civil confinements.

Congress Weighs In

Though courts have found the practice of civil commitments legal, critics still wonder if people who are further confined for a crime they have not yet committed is a form of "double jeopardy."

The 17 state legislatures that now engage in civil commitments aren't willing to take a risk.

Neither is the U.S. House, which last fall passed the Children's Safety Act. The legislation not only includes civil commitments and stiffer minimum sentences for sex offenders under federal jurisdiction, but dictates a more thorough sex offender registry program at the state level. The bill is now in the Senate Judiciary Committee.

John Walsh, creator and host of the television program America's Most Wanted and the father of Adam Walsh, who was abducted and murdered in 1981 when he was age six, told FOXNews.com he has no doubt that the states and Congress are headed in the right direction with these new provisions.

"It's been tragically proven time and time again that these predators just don't stop — not even after being locked up for a long time," Walsh said. "Some people may be willing to take a chance on these offenders. I'm not."

Community Watch comments:

Once you read past all of the bureaucratic nonsense in this article - you get to John Walsh's statement:

"It's been tragically proven time and time again that these predators just don't stop — not even after being locked up for a long time," Walsh said. "Some people may be willing to take a chance on these offenders. I'm not."

Exactly right.  Everyone wants to work the process and say "let's take our time on this" or "they have done their time" but if it was their child abducted or molested by a sex offender, these same bureaucrats would be calling in favors and cutting red tape to get to this resolved asap - it is very sad, very unfortunate, and very true.

Let's help keep each other safe and aware.

New York's Governor signs law making level 2 sex offenders searchable on internet

GOVERNOR SIGNS LAW MAKING LEVEL 2 SEX OFFENDERS SEARCHABLE ON INTERNET

Click HERE to search the New York Sex Offender Registry

Latest Expansion of Megan's Law Enables NY Families To Search More Easily for Level 2 or Level 3 Sex Offenders in Their Area; Law Also Expands Public Notice About Level 1 Sex Offenders

Governor George E. Pataki today attended a ceremonial bill signing for legislation that will require all level 2 sex offenders to be listed on the Internet, along with the level 3 sex offenders currently listed. The law also expands public notice regarding level 1 sex offenders.

"We've fought for years to strengthen Megan's Law in a host of ways -- and in particular, to make the locations of all sex offenders easily searchable on the Internet -- so that New York families would have as much information as possible to keep their loved ones safe. So I am proud to sign a law that takes us yet another step toward that goal," Governor Pataki said. "Until now, you could not find out if a level 2 sex offender lived in your area unless you had both the offender's name and other specific personal information about that offender, such as a social security number or driver's license number. Because of this expansion, New Yorkers will soon be able to find out if any high or moderate risk sex offenders live in their neighborhoods by simply searching our website by geographic location, enabling all of us to be better informed and therefore better able to keep our families safe."

"In January, I signed an expansion to Megan's Law to ensure that all sex offenders remain on the registry for as long as possible – most for life. I said at that time that we must do even more to give every parent and family the tools to protect their children and families. This most recent expansion is certainly another step in the right direction, but there is still much work to be done," the Governor said. "We have strengthened Megan's Law significantly, but I would still like to see every single sex offender searchable on the Internet, so that parents can have the peace of mind to find out if anyone who has been designated a sex offender lives in their area."

Under the previous law, only level 3 sex offenders, considered "high risk" of re-offending, were listed and easily searchable on the Internet. All level 2 offenders are expected to be posted on the DCJS website by mid-July. Governor Pataki has proposed that all sex offenders be listed on the Internet since 2004.

This expansion of Megan's Law will require more than 8,000 level 2 sex offenders, considered to be a "moderate risk" to re-offend, to be listed on the website maintained by the NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) under New York's Sex Offender Registration Act. DCJS estimates that this includes approximately 150 level 2 offenders in Nassau County and 300 in Suffolk County.

The law also expands public notice about level 1 sex offenders by authorizing local police to provide information about their presence in the community. This legislation was signed into law on June 23rd and was effective immediately.

Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno said, "There is nothing more important than ensuring the health and safety of all New Yorkers, particularly children who are the most vulnerable. We will continue to pass laws to crack down on dangerous criminals who prey upon the innocent. I applaud Governor Pataki for signing this important bill into law and I commend Senator Skelos for his commitment to expand Megan's Law and make our communities even more safe from dangerous predators."

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said, "The public hearings the Assembly held last year helped in developing this legislation, which the Assembly then passed in January. Enacting this law strengthens our efforts to ensure the safety of our communities by providing another critical tool in our battle against sex crimes."

Senator Dean G. Skelos said, "Megan's Law provides information to parents and concerned members of the community to protect their families from dangerous sexual predators. Through the Governor's leadership, we have continually worked to strengthen Megan's Law by extending the registration requirements and making information more readily accessible. This important new law builds upon that success and empowers both law enforcement and the public to take the steps necessary to keep our communities safe."

Chauncey G. Parker, New York State Director of Criminal Justice, said, "For years, Governor Pataki has been advocating for a comprehensive plan to manage sex offenders living in New York State, and today we are one step closer to accomplishing this goal. By increasing the amount of information available to the public on the Internet and allowing law enforcement officials to notify the community regarding all sex offenders living in their neighborhoods, every New Yorker will have far more of the information they need to make decisions about the best way to keep their loved ones safe."

Laura Ahearn, Executive Director of Parents for Megan's Law, said, "Protecting children from sexual predators requires us to continually evaluate what is working and what more needs to be done. Today, New York has taken a giant step forward for our children's safety by recognizing the need and enacting the legislation to provide parents with information about sex offenders living in our communities. There is never a wrong time to do the right thing for our children. I applaud the Governor for his leadership and in consistently making our children a top priority."

Kathleen Rice, Nassau County District Attorney, said, "This represents another step in our fight to keep children in New York and in Nassau County safe. Like the expansion of the DNA databank, this is a common sense move that will improve our ability to keep our children safe in Nassau County."

Peter Kehoe, Executive Director of the New York State Sheriffs' Association, said, "These legislative expansions will further empower New York's parents and law enforcement officials to keep children safe. Every bit of information that the law enforcement community is able to share with New York's parents will go a long way in protecting us from dangerous sex offenders that may prey on our children and families."

John Grebert, Executive Director of the New York State Association of Chiefs of Police, said, "New York State has made great strides in implementing laws that protect New York's children, and today we are once again making tremendous progress. Information sharing and public disclosure are two necessary tools that police and parents need so we can work together to keep children free from harm."

James H. Lawrence, Nassau County Police Commissioner, said, "I applaud the expansion of the public notice policy regarding sex offenders. This will augment our efforts to keep our residents safe and suppress crime. I have always maintained that by keeping our communities informed we have enlisted their aid in keeping them safe."

Over the past ten years, violent crime in New York State has been cut in half. Crime is at its lowest levels since statewide crime reporting began - nearly 40 years ago.

NEW YORK'S MEGAN'S LAW

Effective in 1996, and expanded in 1999, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006, New York State's Sex Offender Registration Act requires registration as a sex offender upon a conviction of a listed offense or a conviction for an attempt to commit a listed offense. There are currently over 40 registerable offenses in New York State.

New York State law requires that level 3 sex offenders be on the Sex Offender Registry for life, level 2 offenders be on Registry for life, but may petition a court to be removed from the Registry after 30 years if they are not designated a sexual predator, sexually violent offender or predicate sex offender; and level 1 offenders are required to remain on the Registry for 20 years if they are not designated a sexual predator, sexually violent offender or predicate sex offender. As required by amendments made to Megan's Law in 2002, at the Governor's urging, any offender who has received a designation as a sexual predator, sexually violent offender or predicate sex offender, is required to register for life and cannot be relieved from this duty regardless of risk level.

Previously, New Yorkers could obtain information regarding level 3 sex offenders from the Internet as well as from local law enforcement agencies and from the Sex Offender Registry Information line, (800) 262-3257. Information about level 2 sex offenders could only be obtained from local law enforcement agencies and from the Sex Offender Registry Information line. Information about level 1 sex offenders could only be obtained by calling the Sex Offender Registry Information line. A caller to that line must know the name of the individual about whom they are inquiring and also provide one of four identifiers: drivers license number, social security number, date of birth or exact address. After providing this information callers can verify if an individual is a registered sex offender. No further information could be provided about a level 1 sex offender. If the offender is a level 2, or a level 3 sex offender, more information including the crime of conviction, modus of operation and type of victim targeted could be disclosed. In the case of a level 2 sex offender, the caller is given the offender's approximate address based on the offender's zip code. For level 3 sex offenders, the exact address will be provided. With the enactment of this legislation, the local law enforcement agency can provide information pertaining to all registered sex offenders, including the approximate address based on zip code for level 1 and level 2 offenders and the exact address for level 3 offenders. Additionally, for level 2 and 3 offenders, all information, including the exact address, is available via a Sex Offender Subdirectory Search at www.criminaljustice.state.ny.us. Information about level 2 offenders will be posted on the DCJS website by mid-July. Callers to the Sex Offender Registry Information line will be able to access information on level 1 offenders immediately.

The practical effect of the prior law was that a person moving into a new neighborhood would be unable to learn whether any offenders who were "moderate" risks to re-offend were residing in the area – without knowing specific personal information, including the name, of such a person unless the local law enforcement agency notified the community of such moderate risk offenders. The amendment addresses that unacceptable situation by allowing members of the public to search the Subdirectory on the Internet for all level 2 and level 3 offenders by geographic location, thus providing easily accessible information regarding sex offenders to those who need this information to protect themselves and their children.

The Sex Offender Registration Act has four distinct procedures for community notification. First, local law enforcement agencies are notified whenever a sex offender moves into their jurisdiction and may, in turn, notify the community as allowed by the Act. Additionally, DCJS maintains official information on moderate and high risk, level 2 and level 3, sex offenders on its website. DCJS also maintains a Sex Offender Registry Information Line (1-800-262-3257) and produces a Subdirectory of Sex Offenders, which is accessible at local police agencies.

There are currently over 23,000 convicted sex offenders listed on the Registry. To access information on the State's Sex Offender Registry, visit the DCJS website at www.criminaljustice.state.ny.us.

Community Watch comments:

Great work Governor Pataki!  Let's help keep each other safe and aware!

Oregon finally adds a State Sex Offender Registry

Governor and Oregon State Police put sexual predator information online

Click here for the Oregon State Sex Offender Registry

Monday, July 03, 2006

SALEM - Governor Ted Kulongoski announced that the Oregon State Police are now online with a new Web site which publishes information regarding dangerous sex offenders residing in Oregon. The site was established in accordance with HR 3486 in order to provide information such as name, address, physical descriptions, pictures and conditions of release regarding high risk offenders.

"This new Web site will give Oregonians information about the most predatory sex offenders in their communities," Kulongoski said. "This is one of many tools we need to keep our communities safe. It is important to remember that most sexual offenders have never been convicted and are therefore not in this database. This is why it is imperative for parents to be ever vigilant of our children and with whom they associate."

There are approximately 700 registered sex offenders in Oregon who are classified as predatory or sexually violent dangerous offenders. These offenders are required to register for life under Oregon law and their information will be permanently available on this Web site.

Many counties already provide Web-based information about sexual predators, but the OSP Web site will allow citizens to view the list of offenders in its entirety. As of July 1, more than 85 percent of the predatory sex offenders will be listed on the site.

All will be on the Web site shortly thereafter. Not all sex offenders are classified as "predatory," so not every person who has been convicted of a sexual offense will be listed on the site.

"Oregonians finally have a place to look up predatory sex offenders in their neighborhoods. Hopefully this will give parents one more tool to help protect their children," said State Rep. Jerry Krummel, a key sponsor of HR 3486.

In a related matter, Oregon will now link its Web site to the National Sex Offender Public Registry. The new Web site can be accessed at http://sexoffenders.oregon.gov, or through the Oregon State Police Web site at www.oregon.gov/OSP or through the National Sex Offender Public Registry at www.nsopr.org.

South Dakota now has a State Sex Offender Registry

How To Use SD's New Sex Offender Registry

For years, information about South Dakota sex offenders was only available at local sheriff's offices in smaller communities.

But now, names, addresses, and pictures are all available online through the Attorney General's new website. This new website is easier to use, and hailed by law enforcement as a major step forward for public safety in South Dakota.

You can search for sex offenders two ways: by text or by using a map.

When searching by text, you simply enter whatever information you know. If you want to see what sex offenders live in an area, you can leave the first name and last name fields blank and just type in a street and city. Click search, and a list of sex offenders who meet that criteria will appear. You can click on each listing for more information about each person.

Searching by map can visually show you how many sex offenders live in your area. Just type in the city or county and a map of that area will appear. Each of the red dots on the map represents one sex offender.

If you click on a dot, that offender's name will appear below the map. Clicking on the words "view details" will bring up more information about that specific sex offender, including their address and picture.

The site also includes contact information for law enforcement agencies for each county across South Dakota, and a link to the National Sex Offender Registry.

Community Watch comments:

Great job South Dakota!  Let's help keep each other safe and aware!

All 50 states are now participating in the National Sex Offender Public Registry

WASHINGTON, July 3 /U.S. Newswire/ -- All 50 states are now participating in the National Sex Offender Public Registry (NSOPR) Web site, the Justice Department announced today. South Dakota and Oregon have now been added to the Web site, which provides real- time access to public sex offender data nationwide with a single Internet search. The Department of Justice-sponsored site allows parents and concerned citizens to search existing public state and territory sex offender registries beyond their own states.

"As of July 1st, an important child protection tool will be a truly comprehensive one, with information for all 50 states available nationwide," said Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. "The full completion of the structure of the National Sex Offender Public Registry is very good news for parents and law enforcement officers nationwide. The constant effort to safeguard our children from sex offenders is never finished, but today's announcement marks a clear accomplishment on the side of protection."

The Justice Department announced the activation of a national registry Web site last year and initially linked 22 states to the site. Oregon and South Dakota recently passed the sex offender legislation that now allows the state to be included in the NSOPR as of July 1, 2006. With the addition of these two states inclusion, the registry connects 50 states, the District of Columbia and the territory of Guam the site. The list of the states and territory currently available through NSOPR follows.

"With the inclusion of the last two states to the registry, the capacity grows for parents and communities to be informed and aware of sex offenders residing in their neighborhoods. We commend Oregon and South Dakota for making the site truly available nationwide." said Regina B. Schofield, Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs. "The coordination among states, private organizations, and the Department of Justice moves us closer to making information about all registered sex offenders available to parents and concerned citizens."

The NSOPR provides an opportunity for all states and territories to participate in an unprecedented public safety resource by sharing comprehensive, public sex offender data with citizens nationwide. NSOPR searches public state and territory sex offender registries to deliver matched results based on a name, state, county, city/town or zip code through a single query on its Web site located at http://www.nsopr.gov.

The technology for NSOPR is both time and cost-effective. Web services and DOJ's Global Justice eXtensible Markup Language (XML) establishes a link between existing state and territory public sex offender registries. The link allows data from different hardware and software systems to be recognized and shown through the national search site.

With more than 500,000 registered sex offenders nationwide, access to national public registry information is essential for citizens to help identify sex offenders beyond their own streets or neighborhoods.

Community Watch comments:

Great job - all 50 states are finally in the National Registry!  Let's help keep each other safe and aware.