Safe at a Distance: Replacing Flyers with Postcards & Email for Community Notification

In the past,deputies withthe PauldingCountyOhioSheriff’s Office walked neighborhoods, passing out flyers about registered sex offenders who had moved into the neighborhood. PCSO met itsstatutory requirement for community notificationsbut the task wasexpensive,time-consuming, and the process exposed the deputies to undue risk. However,amidthe globalCovid-19pandemic, PCSO was looking for a safer and healthier solution tothe deputieswalking the county door-to-door. PCSO turned to OffenderWatch, the nation’s leader in sex offender management, to provide a cost-effective, safe alternative to passing out flyers so theycouldadhere to social distancing guidelines.OffenderWatch’s Postcard Community Notificationprogram is a cost-effective solution for law enforcement agencies looking to update the community when a sex offender moves into a new neighborhood.For the cost of a first-class stamp,a registering agency can click to order, thenOffenderWatchwill print and mail postcardswithin 72 hoursand provide a delivery log to the agency.About 3 millionsex offender notificationpostcards were sent by OffenderWatchagencieslast year.Plus,OffenderWatchagencies automaticallysentover 17 millionemail updates to the community when registered offenders move into their neighborhood.“It’s not a good idea for deputies to be going door-to-door during this time of social distancing,” said Sheriff Landers.“OffenderWatch’semail, website, and postcardnotification optionsare a safer, faster, and cost-effective means of notifying the public ofregisteredsex offendermovements.”