State and Local Laws Pertaining to Registered Sex Offenders

Every state and county contains sex offenders and predators. Most of these must maintain registration and constant communication with the local government authorities under national laws. However, each local government may exercise slightly different rules and regulations concerning how these registrations must be updated. Here, you'll find a discussion of many of these common laws and rules pertaining to these offenders.

Laws Affecting States and Their Registration Requirements

In 1994, the Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Act was signed into law. This was a paramount event, as the Act requires each state to implement a system of requiring sex offenders to register and report their personal addresses for public access. Prior to this year, only some states practiced this type of system concerning registered sex offenders in their vicinity. Today, each of the 50 states maintains their own registries.

Later, in 1996, Megan's Law was enacted to require the states to notify the public upon the release of a convicted sex offender from incarceration. Each state handles this requirement differently, but the addition of this requirement now enables the public to know of the current addresses of offenders in their area as well as when a new offender is set free.

Passed in 2006, the Adam Walsh Act attempts to streamline the registration of sex offenders and instate some type of continuity between the states and their registration requirements. Every state was required to come under compliance of the Act within three years, and offer online registry information to the public. These online registries must include names, dates of birth, employment information, current address and photographs of the offenders.

Other Local and State Registration Laws

Under the Adam Walsh Act, offenders are classified in one of three tiers. Level three offenders are the most violent, must register for life, and update their addresses with the local government every three weeks. Level two offenders update their addresses every six months and must do so for 25 years, and level one offenders must update their information once a year for 15 years. These Tier one offenders may be as young as 14 years old. Federal law now mandates these requirements, and failure to comply is classified as a felony.

Some states or local governments may impose additional requirements of registered sex offenders. The implementation of the Adam Walsh Act means that offenders who cross state lines will be better tracked for public notification. Each state exercises concurrent requirements now, which prevents offenders from crossing state lines to avoid registering appropriately.

Each state registry and local laws will differ somewhat, but these federal laws have now brought some type of continuity to the registration requirements of sex offenders in your area. Search your local government website for your local offender registry online, and know that the classification of and information maintained on these offenders remains the same no matter where you may move in the future.