Oklahoma Sex Offender Registry Information

The Oklahoma Department of Corrections maintains the Oklahoma Sex Offender Registry. This database provides the residents of the state with the permissible information on the sex offenders that live within the limits of Oklahoma State. According to the Sex Registration Act, 57 OS 581-590, any individual who lives, works or attends school within the state limits have ever been convicted for a sex offense in Oklahoma post November 1, 1989, needs to register with the Department of Corrections of Oklahoma or the nearest law enforcement agency. This Act is also applicable for sex offenders from other state but has entered Oklahoma after November 1, 1989.

Sex Offender Levels

According to the State Law, there are three levels of sex offenders. Level 1 offenders are the one who pose lower risk to the community and repeat the act. The Oklahoma sex offender registry mandates them to register twice a year for continuous fifteen years. Level 2 sex offenders pose moderate threat of re-offending thus they require to register for continuous twenty-five years at a stretch. Level 3 sex offenders have been further categorized into two- Habitual and Aggravated. A habitual sex offender has two or more than two sex convictions against his or her name. An aggravated sex offender is the one who has been convicted for violent or the most serious kind of sex offense. Level 3 sex offenders need to register every three months for rest of their life time.

The offenders of all the levels must report within three business days of their release from confinement or probation, of receiving a sentence that was suspended, of changing address that has been registered with the official database and entering the state. Also, if an offender plans to stay in some other jurisdiction for a week or more than that, he or she must notify the law enforcement agency of that locality of the intention within three business days. The law is applicable for the out of state and out of jurisdiction sex offenders. If any offender fails to report for Oklahoma sex offender registry, it would be regarded as a felony crime and would be penalized accordingly. This could be an imprisonment of five years and/or a fine of $5000.

Information Obtained from Offenders:

Information collected from the offenders at the time of registration are name and all the aliases used, date of birth, sex, ethnicity, eye and hair color, current photograph, finger prints, information related to vehicles if any, identification marks like scar or tattoo, previous and present residential address, people residing at this address and their relation with the offender, name and address of institution attended- school, college or office whichever is applicable and blood and saliva for DNA sample.

The public release of private and personal information on these sex offenders through Internet became a law in 1996 when Megan Law was passed and implemented. The petition for the law was filed after Megan Kanka case where this seven year old child was raped and then brutally murdered by an unregistered sex offender. Later, he was traced, convicted and sentenced to death. The parents of Megan had then urged for making safety measures to inform the community know each time a sex offender is released after completion of the imprisonment or probation term. Law making authorities complied with the fact that sex offenders are very likely to re-offend thus according steps should be taken. And it was mandated for every state to maintain a database of sex offenders in every county and make it accessible to general public via Internet. The official site of Oklahoma sex offender registry is http://docapp8.doc.state.ok.us/servlet/page?_pageid=190&_dad=portal30&_schema=PORTAL30.