Offender Moves from Texas to California, But Fails to Alert Houston PD

Registered sex offenders often move from city to city without alerting their registering law enforcement offices. When this happens, the registering agencies must open investigations to find the non-compliant offender.However, if both agencies are in the OffenderWatch Network, they will often receive notifications about offenders who have moved – saving time and manpower performing failure to register investigations and obtaining a warrant. This was the case recently when a registered sex offender moved from the Houston Police Department’s jurisdiction into San Diego County, CA. Although the offender did report to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office, the Houston PD was unaware the offender had left.Since both agencies use OffenderWatch, Houston PD received a notification when San Diego County Sheriff’s Office updated the offender’s record in the OffenderWatch system, noting of the movement. By receiving this instant alert, Houston could confirm one of their offenders was compliant and now living in California, instead of opening an investigation for an absconded offender.As Houston PD employee Eva Vawters says, “Getting that [OffenderWatch] system message saved me from needing to chase [the offender] down.”Saving time, money, and precious investigative resources, OffenderWatch helps law enforcement agencies big and small better manage their offenders and easily collaborate with other agencies.Learn more about joining the OffenderWatch Network.