Information About Alabama Sex Offender Registry

The state of Alabama requires all offenders convicted of certain sex crimes to register with the state and local law enforcement authorities. This is done in order to keep track of and locate certain sex offenders whenever necessary. The information given at the time of registration could be found in the Alabama Sex Offender Registry. The Alabama sex offender laws dictate which sex offenses make an individual, accused and convicted, eligible for registration. The sex crimes that make the convict eligible for registration are rape (both first and second degree), sodomy (first and second degree), sexual abuse, sexual torture, and in cases of incest where the victim is less than 18 years of age and the offender is more than 20 years old.

Alabama Sex Offender Registration Procedure

The Alabama State Department of Public Safety is responsible for updating the Alabama sex offender registry. It is assisted by the local law enforcement agencies of Alabama in this task. The sex offender registration program has a certain procedure. Every sex offender who needs to register with the department is given the registration papers at the time of release from incarceration. He or she must submit these papers, duly filled in, within a span of 7 days, to the local law enforcement agency of the county where they are residing or where they are attending school or where they are employed. The sex offender is also fingerprinted and photographed and his or her DNA sample is collected by the local agency as well.

The information that needs to be given at the time of sex offender registration in Alabama includes the following details:

•    Full name
•    Address
•    Physical description
•    Age
•    Sex
•    Offense(s) for which he or she was convicted
•    Recent photograph
•    DNA sample
•    Date of release from incarceration.

The information given to the local law enforcement agency is stored in their database and a copy is provided to the Alabama State Department of Public Safety. It is the task of the department to preserve and maintain these records. They are also responsible for offering the public access to this information. It has to be kept in mind that the details of sex offenders convicted of particular offenses, as stated in the Community Notification Act § 15-20-21, are available for public viewing. Information about juvenile sex offenders is not accessible to the public. In cases where the hearing processes are not yet complete or those which involve an out of state convict, or one from the federal court or from an Indian Reservation, the details are unavailable for public use as well. In cases involving ‘sexual misconduct’ or ‘indecent exposure’ convict details are not accessible for the public.

The state of Alabama requires the eligible sex offenders to register for life. This means that they need to provide any change in their details to the local law enforcement throughout their life. If there is a change in address, a registered sex offender of Alabama requires notifying the authorities of the change within 30 days. If there is any discrepancy between the data given by the sex offender and the actual details, the offender is termed non-compliant and the state could order legal proceedings against him or her. The out of state sex offenders accused of crimes that require registration need to do it when they relocate to Alabama. These out of state sex offenders need to register with the local and state law enforcement authorities on an annual and biannual basis so that they can be located with ease.

Alabama Sex Offender Registry Search

If you want to conduct a search on the Alabama sex offender registry all you need to do access http://dps.alabama.gov/home/wfcontent.aspx?id=20&plh1=plhalerts-sexoffenders. The sex offender search can be conducted on the basis of the last name of the offender, the city of residence or employment, the county of residence or employment or the zip code. The details provided include full name, aliases, address (residence, and school or employment), physical details, date of birth, age, race, sex, crime information, victim information (general), identifiers, work information, vehicle details, etc. The photograph collected at the time of registration is also displayed. This data is collected from the local law enforcement agency and must be checked with the local County Sheriff or police department for accuracy.

Alabama Sex Offenders: More Information

If you want more details with regard to a particular registered sex offender enlisted on the Alabama sex offender registry you can contact the local law enforcement authorities. The address and contact details of all law enforcement agencies operating in the state of Alabama can be found by accessing http://www.dps.alabama.gov/Home/. Obtaining this information is convenient as well; all you need to do is choose the particular law enforcement agency operating in your neighborhood and the search would return the address and contact information. For example, if you choose to contact the Alabama Bureau of Investigation, the result would show all details in the following format:

Alabama Bureau of Investigation, Sandra Johnson, 301 S Ripley St, Montgomery, Alabama 36102, Phone: (334) 353-1172, Fax: (334) 252-2563, Email: sexoffenders@dps.alabama.gov.

Or if you want to contact the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office you would be given the following details:

Calhoun County Sheriffs Dept., 400 W 8th Street, Anniston, Alabama 36201, Phone: (256) 236-6600, Fax: (256) 237-6321.

The local law enforcement agencies operating in some of the major counties of Alabama are as follows:

Jefferson County Sheriff's Department, Sheriff Mike Hale, 2200 8th Avenue North, Birmingham, Alabama 35203, Phone: (205) 325-5900, Fax: (205) 325-5864, Mobile County Sheriffs Department, Sheriff Sam Cochran, P.O. Box 113, Mobile, Alabama 36601, Phone: (251) 574-7827, Mobile Police Department, Chief Sam Cochran, 2460 Government Street, Mobile, Alabama 36606, Phone: (251) 434-1701, Fax: (251) 434-7356, Shelby County Sheriff's Department, Sheriff Chris Curry, P O Box 1095, Columbiana, Alabama 35051, Phone: (205) 669-4181, Fax: (205) 669-3865, Madison County Sheriff's Department, Sheriff Blake Dorning, 100 Northside Sq, Huntsville, Alabama 35801, Phone: (256) 532-3416, Fax: (256) 532-6976, Madison Police Department, Chief Daniel J. Busken, 100 Hughes Rd, Madison, Alabama 35758, Phone: (256) 772-5634, Fax: (256) 772-5622, Tuscaloosa County Sheriffs Department, Sheriff Ted Sexton, 714 1/2 Greensboro Ave, Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35401, Phone: (205) 752-0616, Fax: (205) 752-6985, Tuscaloosa Police Department, Chief Ken Swindle, 3801 Mill Creek Ave, Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35401, Phone: (205) 349-2121, Fax: (205) 349-0174, Email: agreen@ci.tuscaloosa.al.us.

You can also contact the Alabama Bureau of Investigation directly to know about a particular registered sex offender living in the state. For this you need to call (334) 353-1172. The hours of operation are from Monday to Friday between 8.00 a.m. and 5.00 p.m. You can also send an email at sexoffenders@dps.alabama.gov.