Working Together to Keep Offenders Registered

Leanna Ristow and Amy Heetland, both support specialists for Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office, Washington, work together to maximize the full gamut of automated capabilities of OffenderWatch’s online sex offender registry software. They routinely gather all the data required by state and federal statutes, then pack the record with information useful to investigators. They collect the offenders’ home, work and school addresses, address verification history, vehicles, case and registration forms, mug shot photos, photos of scars, marks and tattoos, and internet identifiers. Recently, they were able to provide over 12 years of information on two different sex offenders who failed to re-register as a part of their court mandate within the past year.In both cases, these Level III sex offenders failed to check-in with their local police department as required by state sex offender statutes. Due to their history and the nature of their convictions, both offenders are considered a potential threat to their surrounding communities.Because registering agencies can share records through OffenderWatch, agencies save a significant amount of time on research and data entry. Grays Harbor County had immediate access to the offender’s comprehensive record including information from previous agencies where the offender was registered. With this information, they ensure that offenders remained compliant, or in this case, they can easily begin an investigation to obtain a warrant for non-compliance.

According to Ristow, “OffenderWatch is a great database for managing and keeping track of our offenders. I couldn’t do without it.” The program “has allowed us to go completely paperless” in their efforts to find missing offenders.

To learn more information about the OffenderWatch Network, contact OffenderWatch.