NationalSex Offender

Public Registry

What is NSOPR

NSOPR, National Sex Offender Public Registry uses the Internet to search public sex offender web sites from state and territories.

4 Reasons to Build NSOPR

• A single focal point for citizens to search public sex offender information nationwide.

• The project builds on existing state technical capabilities.

• States and local law enforcement and criminal justice agencies retain control over their data and search processes.

• The decentralized approach is superior to a central data warehouse for a public access project.

How does it work

With a single query from any web-capable computer, the user can search by: Name, State, County, City/Town, and Zip Code. The final product will have Zip Code radius searches, allowing searches to cross state lines with a common denominator – the zip code.

NSOPR Web Server

Search sent to states’ repositoriesSearch sent to server

Internet

Citizen enters data

Server delivers results to web page

Citizen selects name to view data

Search resultsback to server

The Search Process

What is the Method

Using web services and XML, the Department of Justice can link to existing public state sex offender registries to provide a national search tool for parents and other concerned Americans.

Project Time Line

• Prototype presented to Attorney General Gonzales and national announcement made

• Prototype competed in 5 days

• 21 States and the District of Columbia connected an made public July 20, 2005

• Balance of states to come online and improvements to be made by end of 2005

• Ongoing Performance evaluation

What they’re saying about the NSOPR

• “This is a major step forward for everyone who wants to protect loved ones from sex offenders. . . I applaud the Attorney General’s decision to take this action immediately.”

- Senator Dorgan (D-ND)

• “The site could be valuable for law enforcement in keeping tabs on transient offenders . . . A national web site could reduce the work of tracking out-of-state offenders to a few key strokes.”

- Lt. Greg Wojciechowski Lucas County Sheriff’s Office, OH

What they’re saying about the NSOPR

• "No child should ever have to experience the terror of abduction, or worse. No family should ever have to endure the nightmare of losing a child. Our nation grieves with every family that has suffered unbearable loss. And our nation will fight threats against our children."

• . . . will provide one-stop access to registries from the 48 states that have them. And we will work with the two remaining states, to be sure that everyone gets on board with this important public notification system. With this technology, every citizen and law enforcement officer will be able to search the latest information for the identity and location of known sex offenders.

-President George W. Bush

- Attorney General Albert Gonzales

What they’re saying about the NSOPR

• "I see the powerful value of the right information being available at the right time to prevent many crimes from ever taking place . . .access to public registry information can offer parents, grandparents, and concerned citizens the ability to protect children by identifying sex offenders nationwide through a single search from their home computer, or even a local library with Internet access."

-Tracy Henke Acting Assistant Attorney General Office of Justice Programs