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Sex-Offender Registration
In the United States there are various laws requiring the registration
of sex offenders with state, law-enforcement agencies.
Each state determines the criteria for registration and notification,
which is the means by which law enforcement disperses information to the
public.
The laws and acts listed below were used by each state to develop their
own state, sex-offender registration and notification laws.
18 U.S.C. 4042 - Duties of the Bureau of Prisons
This statute requires the federal Bureau of Prisons,
upon release of a designated sex offender from prison or upon such an
offender's sentence to probation, to provide notice to
- the chief, law-enforcement officer of the
state and local jurisdiction in which the offender will reside
- the state or local agency responsible for
the receipt and maintenance of sex-offender registration information
in the state or local jurisdiction in which the offender will reside
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Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually
Violent Offender Registration
42 U.S.C. 14071 Part of the Violent Crime Control
and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 required each state to create, within
a specified time period and pursuant to guidelines established by the
Attorney General, a registry system for offenders convicted of certain
criminal offenses against minor victims and those convicted of sexually
violent offenses. States failing to comply forfeited 10 percent of funds
they would otherwise receive pursuant to the Omnibus Crime Control and
Safe Streets Act of 1968.
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Megan’s Law
The “federal Megan’s Law” is a subsection of
the Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender
Registration Law (Wetterling Act). The federal law changes the conditions
under which information collected by state-registration programs can
be disclosed to the public. It does not, in and of itself, constitute
a separate federal registration requirement.
The Wetterling Act originally provided that information
collected in these state registries would be treated as private information,
except for dissemination to law-enforcement agencies for law-enforcement
purposes and government agencies conducting confidential background
checks.
State and local law-enforcement agencies were
permitted to release relevant information necessary to protect the public
concerning a specific person required to register, so long as the identity
of a victim was not released.
In 1996 the U.S. Congress amended that portion
of the law with P.L. 104-145 to remove
- the statements regarding privacy of the registry
information
- permissive language regarding community notification
The amended section now provides that the registry
information may be disclosed for any permissible state purpose and mandates
that registry information be released when necessary to protect the
public. This provision is now 42 U.S.C. 14071(e).
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Pam Lychner Sexual Offender Tracking and Identification
Act of 1996
This law, 42 U.S.C. 14072, also amended the Wetterling
Act. It directed the Attorney General to establish a national database
at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to track the whereabouts
and movement of each person who
- has been convicted of a criminal offense against
a minor or a sexually violent offense
- is a sexually violent predator
Individuals who meet the above criteria but who
reside in a state that has not established a sufficient sexual-offender
registration system, defined in subsection (a) of this statute, must
register a current address, fingerprints, and a current photograph directly
with the FBI. Information collected by the FBI under this statute must
also be disclosed in accordance with the above provisions.
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State Laws and Registration Information
To find more information about the laws in your
specific state and information about your state’s sex-offender registry,
contact your state or local law-enforcement agency. For question
and answer fact sheets for all 50 states and the District of Columbia
on Megan's Law legislation requiring registration and notification of
sex offenders click
here.
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