Hello--
I have carefully researched your question and have the answer.
The registry requirements for convicted sex offenders are the same
across the United States. The notification laws, however, vary from
state to state.
In 1994, Congress passed into law three statutes (the most commonly
known one is Megan's Law) that establishes service to keep track of
the whereabouts of sex offenders. Convicted sex offenders are required
by federal law to register with local law enforcement in their
communities. These federal laws also required states to create systems
by which they can notify citizens in a community when convicted sex
offenders move into their areas.
Any sex offender who's released from jail on or after Oct. 31, 1994,
must register. This includes the following sex offenses: aggravated
sexual assault, sexual assault, aggravated criminal sexual contact,
endangering the welfare of a child by engaging in sexual conduct,
luring or enticing and, if the victim were a minor and the offender
not a parent, kidnapping, criminal restraint and false imprisonment.
You may read a "frequently asked questions" page that contains
valuable information about registry requirements online. The link is
http://www.sexoffender.com/megan.htm
Notification varies case to case. A prosecutor or judge determines the
frequency and aggressiveness of the notification process of the
community based on the seriousness of the offense and the level of
threat to the public. If an offender is deemed "high risk," neighbors
will be alerted in an aggressive manner. If he or she is deemed "low
risk," it may be up to individual members of a community to seek out
the information. According to the National Sex Offender registry,
"Many states have turned to the Internet to comply with the federal
notification mandates. Other states - Arkansas and Massachusetts, for
example - do not list sex offenders online but do use the Internet to
provide instructions on how to obtain information on offenders. In
some states, local law enforcement agencies have taken to the Internet
to provide information on sex offenders in their jurisdictions. In a
few states, sex offender information was placed on the Internet by
private organizations. Information on state-maintained sex offender
Web sites is accessible through the links below."
Each state has different notification methods. A web site has been set
up that you can search to find out who the convicted sex offenders are
in different areas. The link is http://www.sexoffender.com/state.html
This above link also includes information about the notification
methods employed by the 50 states.
To conduct this research, I searched the following search terms: "sex
offenders"
I hope this helps! If you need clarification, please don't hesitate to
ask.
darrel-ga |
