OffenderWatch®

From harborpedia

OffenderWatch® is the nation's leading registered sex offender management and community notification tool with hundreds of leading agencies in dozens of states utilizing it. Washington's law enforcement utilizes OffenderWatch® to manage and monitor the whereabouts, conduct and compliance status of the registered offenders in Washington. [1]

The Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Cheifs maintains this OffenderWatch® portal as a community service. [1]

History

"In 1990, the Washington State Legislature enacted the Community Protection Act. The act included a registration law requiring convicted sex offenders who are released from custody or under supervision to register with local law enforcement. In addition, the legislature created the first community notification law, which authorized officials to notify the public when dangerous sex offenders are released into the community. These measures were intended to 'restrict the access of known sex offenders to vulnerable populations, and also to improve law enforcement’s ability to identify convicted offenders'." [2]

In 2008 the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs contracted with Appriss® and OffenderWatch® to implement a state-wide real-time sex offender notification and registration system [3]. Community members can access the website at any time to search for offenders by address, county and name and/or can sign-up to receive automatic notification when an offender moves into their neighborhood. All level II and III offenders are published on the website. Out of compliance level I offenders are also published. Each level of sex offenders is subject to additional notification to the community.

Utilize OffenderWatch(R)

To register for email alerts visit: http://www.icrimewatch.net/register.php?AgencyID=54528
To search for offenders in your aread visit: http://www.icrimewatch.net/index.php?AgencyID=54528
To view the Grays Harbor County Sheriff's Office's Community Safety program presentation visit: http://www.sheriffalerts.com/cap_main.php?office=54470.

Resources

[1]http://www.sheriffalerts.com/cap_main.php?office=54528
[2]Lieb, Roxanne and Nunlist, Corey (2008). Community Notification as viewed by Washington’s Citizens: A 10-Year Follow-Up (Document No. 08-03-1101). Olympia: Washington State Institute for Public Policy.
[3] Pierce, Donald. “Sex Offender Registration and Notification.” Message to Association Membership. 24 July 2008. E-mail.