Programs
National Sex Offender Public Registry
National Sex Offender Public Registry Protects Children, Families, and Communities In 1994 Congress passed the Wetterling Act (Jacob Wetterling . . .
National Sex Offender Public Registry Protects Children, Families, and Communities
In 1994 Congress passed the Wetterling Act (Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Act), which required states to register sex offenders. But after the rape and murder of seven-year-old Megan Kanka by a convicted sex offender, “Megan's Law” was passed as an amendment to the Wetterling Act. Megan's Law requires states to notify the public when dangerous sexual offenders are residing in their area. States are required to post this information on Internet sites.
All U.S. states have sex-offender websites. However, there was no national system that could locate sex offenders in various states. To cover this gap, the U.S. Department of Justice designed a strategy to link public state and territory sex offender registries to the National Sex Offender Public Registry (NSO PR ). Real-time access to public registry information nationwide enables parents and other concerned Americans to identify sex offenders beyond their own streets or neighborhoods. NSO PR can search websites by name, state, county, city/town, and zip code. This effective and affordable strategy minimizes the time and funding that would have been required to create a new repository and requires no user training or fees. This will facilitate using the registry for residents of cities and towns along state borders.
The prototype of NSOPR , which was developed by the Bureau of Justice Assicatance in just five days, linked Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, and Ohio. In May 20, 2005, the website was launched with the goal of having 20 states available online in 60 days. By July 2005, 21 states and the District of Columbia were connected. Currently, 13 additional states and Guam have been linked to the website. The rest of the states are expected to come online soon.
There has been considerable controversy and debate about privacy concerns and the possibilities of abuse of these sites. Many state registries post disclaimer on their sites, which is also included in the information that appears on NSOPR. These caution users that the information cannot be used to “injure, harass, or commit a criminal act against any person” ( New York ). New Jersey's site includes: “Warning: Any person who uses the information contained herein to threaten, intimidate or harass another, or who otherwise misuses that information may be subject to criminal prosecution or civil liability.” To access Vermont 's sex offender registry, the user must register, and this information will be used to “identify a pattern or practice of misuse of sex offender registration information such as the commission of a crime against a registered sex offender or any attempt to portray falsely an individual as a sex offender.”
The NSO PR is especially useful in identifying high-risk sex offenders, which usually include sexually violent predators who suffer from mental abnormality or personality disorders may increase the propensity to engage in a predatory sexually violent offense. Over the long term, recidivism of high-risk sex offenders may be as high as 50 to 70 percent. The national website will help parents, teachers, and other concerned people stay informed about potential risks within the community.
The site had 27,322,271 hits in the first 48 hours and had over 90 million hits by December 2005.
In 1994 Congress passed the Wetterling Act (Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Act), which required states to register sex offenders. But after the rape and murder of seven-year-old Megan Kanka by a convicted sex offender, “Megan's Law” was passed as an amendment to the Wetterling Act. Megan's Law requires states to notify the public when dangerous sexual offenders are residing in their area. States are required to post this information on Internet sites.
All U.S. states have sex-offender websites. However, there was no national system that could locate sex offenders in various states. To cover this gap, the U.S. Department of Justice designed a strategy to link public state and territory sex offender registries to the National Sex Offender Public Registry (NSO PR ). Real-time access to public registry information nationwide enables parents and other concerned Americans to identify sex offenders beyond their own streets or neighborhoods. NSO PR can search websites by name, state, county, city/town, and zip code. This effective and affordable strategy minimizes the time and funding that would have been required to create a new repository and requires no user training or fees. This will facilitate using the registry for residents of cities and towns along state borders.
The prototype of NSOPR , which was developed by the Bureau of Justice Assicatance in just five days, linked Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, and Ohio. In May 20, 2005, the website was launched with the goal of having 20 states available online in 60 days. By July 2005, 21 states and the District of Columbia were connected. Currently, 13 additional states and Guam have been linked to the website. The rest of the states are expected to come online soon.
There has been considerable controversy and debate about privacy concerns and the possibilities of abuse of these sites. Many state registries post disclaimer on their sites, which is also included in the information that appears on NSOPR. These caution users that the information cannot be used to “injure, harass, or commit a criminal act against any person” ( New York ). New Jersey's site includes: “Warning: Any person who uses the information contained herein to threaten, intimidate or harass another, or who otherwise misuses that information may be subject to criminal prosecution or civil liability.” To access Vermont 's sex offender registry, the user must register, and this information will be used to “identify a pattern or practice of misuse of sex offender registration information such as the commission of a crime against a registered sex offender or any attempt to portray falsely an individual as a sex offender.”
The NSO PR is especially useful in identifying high-risk sex offenders, which usually include sexually violent predators who suffer from mental abnormality or personality disorders may increase the propensity to engage in a predatory sexually violent offense. Over the long term, recidivism of high-risk sex offenders may be as high as 50 to 70 percent. The national website will help parents, teachers, and other concerned people stay informed about potential risks within the community.
The site had 27,322,271 hits in the first 48 hours and had over 90 million hits by December 2005.
