Texas Sex Offender Registration Program Vincent Castilleja Sex Offender Registration Coordinator Texas Department of Public Safety

Federal Registration Law Federal – 1994 Jacob Wetterling Act Established guidelines for states to track sex offenders. Required states to track sex offenders by confirming their place of residence annually for ten years after their release into the community or quarterly for the rest of their lives if the sex offender was convicted of a violent sex crime.

Federal – 1996 Megan’s Law Provided for the public dissemination of information from states’ sex offender registries. Provided that information collected under state registration programs could be disclosed for any purpose permitted under a state law. Required state and local law enforcement agencies to release relevant information necessary to protect the public about persons registered under a State registration program established under the Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act.

Texas Sex Offender Registration Program Created in 1991 Texas registry contains all of the same elements at conception At time it added registrants prospectively; in 1997 went retro-active 1999 registration information first accessible by internet inquiry Since 2000 registry adds approximately 111 new registrants each week

Adults and Juvenile registrants Contains male as well as females; and sometimes those in-between As of April 2011, there are 66,019 active registrants in the State of Texas

Risk Levels High7366 Moderate23991 Low13762 Sexual Predators 172 Not Reported/Eligible20728

Address Types Valid Texas Residence42043 Incarcerated11590 Out of Country 4594 Out of State 3315 Absconded 1367 Unknown 783 In Transit Move 666 Transient/Homeless 396 Work Release 20

Occupations Employed Unemployed Unknown 9648 Disabled 3606 Retired 2260

Offenses Most Reported Indecency with a Child Contact24159 Aggravated Sexual Assault Child15697 Sexual Assault of a Child11272 Sexual Assault 7913 Indecency with a Child by Exposure 6181 Aggravated Sexual Assault 5101 (Elements Offense Discussion)

What Data is Available to the Public? Names and any reported alias names Dates of birth Physical descriptors Photographs (Current and Historical)

Registration/Verification authorities and reported dates Residential Address Information Occupation Information – Occupation – Employer Name and Address Institution of Higher Education Information Occupational License Information

Offense information – Texas – 50 States – Federal – Military – Out of Country – Board/Court Ordered – Interstate Compact

What Other Data Is Available to Law Enforcement Unique identifiers such as Social Security Numbers; DL/ID card numbers/Shoe Info/Etc. Supplemental Address Information Contact Information (phone numbers) Vehicle Information Relative Information Online Identifiers

What is Process to Collect Info? Registration information is self-reported from the offender Initial registration information is collected prior from release from incarceration or at time of placement on community supervision. Initial registration information is also collected at local law enforcement on registrants who come to Texas from another jurisdiction (State).

Registrant then has 7 days to report to the local law enforcement agency in the jurisdiction of their residence to “verify” registration information. When registrant reports to the local law enforcement authority, they will confirm information and create a local registration record on the person.

Updates and Subsequent Verification Events Registrants have 7 days to report Updates/Change of Statuses to their Primary Registration Authority. Updates can include changes to Address; Vehicle; Employment information, etc. “Verification” is a statutory mechanism to require registrants to appear before their Primary Registration Authorities to confirm information is still current despite no changes in reported information.

DPS Designated Repository Copy of information is forwarded to local law enforcement of residence and DPS for inclusion in state registry (central repository). Initial registration information must be forwarded to DPS in hard copy format due to the utilization of prints for identification purposes. Verification and update information can be submitted hard copy (DPS enters into database on behalf of locals) or via Secure Internet web site entered by the locals directly.

DPS Texas Sex Offender Registry (Criminal Justice Access) The Department of Public Safety has created an Internet Application to allow Criminal Justice users to access real time registration information online. This Secure Web Site allows users to either view; search; or update information.

DPS Sponsored Texas Sex Offender Registry (Public Access) (follow links) Or

NSOPW In 2005 the Department of Justice created a government web site that links public state, territory, and tribal registries from one national search site. Created in honor in honor of 22-year-old college student Dru Sjodin of Grand Forks, North Dakota, a young woman who was kidnapped and murdered by a sex offender who crossed state lines to commit his crime.

NSOPW’s Mission Allow parents, employers, and other concerned residents can utilize the Website’s search tool as a safety resource to identify location information on sex offenders residing, working, and attending school not only in their own neighborhoods but in other nearby states and communities as well. In addition, the Website assists citizens with learning the facts about sexual abuse and how to protect themselves and loved ones from potential victimization.

NSOPW Search Options By Name By Jurisdiction By Zip Code By County (if provided by Jurisdiction) By City/Town (if provided by Jurisdiction) National

Public Sex Offender Registry Download Nicknamed “Public Export” Available as a download for users wishing to do comparisons against their own systems, combine with other data, run statistics or otherwise perform operations not available thru the TxDPS Crime Records Service Public website.

Public Export Data Specifics Data updated twice a week. Size is approximately 15MB. Available free of charge. Documentation on processing the data is included in download. Scripts for importing data into SQL Server 2005 is also included.

Public Export Requirements TXDps Public Website Account (Free) Database Server (Access, SQL Server or Oracle) Adobe Acrobat Reader (for documentation)

Public Export and Public Information Requests Any entity who downloads the Export will have their name posted on the Crime Records Service website.

Subscription Service The Department of Public Safety has created a notification system that allows the public to subscribe to notifications regarding database changes relating to registered sex offenders. Subscriptions can be based upon: – Registrant – Zip Code – Designated Area – Institution of Higher Education

Social Networking Data Texas Sex Offender laws do not prohibit registrants from accessing the Internet or from creating accounts or web pages on social networking or photo-sharing websites. State law requires the Department of Public Safety to collect online information provided by sex offenders in the Texas Sex Offender Registry; and then give this online information to approved Social Networking Sites to assist them in identifying sex offenders using their site.

State law also allows the Department of Public Safety to release Social Networking Data to Law Enforcement Agencies for Criminal Justice purposes. This data is available in the same format as the “public export” but contains online identifier information not available to the public.

Sex Offender Registration Unit Texas Department of Public Safety PO Box 4143 Austin Texas (512) NSOPW DPS Crime Records Web Site