Introduction to the Utah Sex and Kidnap Offender Registry
by Jerry McMullin

Welcome. The Utah Department of Corrections, mandated by State Law, provides parents and others responsible for the care of children. teens, and vulnerable adults with an online resource called the Utah Sex and Kidnap Offender Registry. Individuals living in Utah who have been convicted of a variety of offenses are required to register their names and addresses along with photographs and other identifying information. That information is then made publicly available and can be searched online. This brief presentation will show you how to search the Registry to identify offenders living near you. A link to the registry is provided at the conclusion.

Offenses that require registration include sexual abuse of a child, kidnapping, enticing a minor, lewdness involving a child, sexually exploiting a vulnerable adult, rape, sexual battery, and similar crimes. A more complete list of the offenses is found at the bottom of the first page of the website. When you click on any of the items, a pop-up will appear with a copy of the law.

The logo of the Utah Department of Corrections, the sponsor of the registry, appears at the top of the first page. The mission of the Utah Department of Corrections is described on their website. It reads “Our Mission: Our dedicated team of professionals ensures public safety by effectively managing offenders while maintaining close collaboration with our partners and the community.” And it adds this: “Our team is devoted to providing maximum opportunities to offenders to make lasting changes through accountability, treatment, education, and positive reinforcement within a safe environment.” So what we see on this registry is only the surface. Behind the scenes, the Department of Corrections is putting forth a massive effort to provide treatment, supervision, and correction to offenders.

A March 6, 2014 article in the Ogden Standard Examiner points out that parents may assume that all registered sex offenders are being supervised. However, only those who are on probation, on parole, or are incarcerated are being monitored. Many Utah newspapers such as the Ogden Standard Examiner, the Deseret News and the Salt Lake Tribune are available online and can be searched to locate helpful articles that provide parents and others responsible for protecting children and teens with more background on the registry and the work of the Utah Department of Corrections.

Underneath the Utah Department of Corrections on the first page is a disclaimer section. Certain terms and conditions are listed with which you must agree to search the registry. It's a temptation to just scan them, agree, and begin a search but they are very important to the Department of Corrections so they should be examined.

The top line provides a link to the Utah Code that mandates the development of the Registry. Next come the terms and conditions – the things everyone should understand and agree to before searching the registry. These include:

1. “Though much information is of record, some of the information contained on the site is obtained from offenders and the department does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.”

2. “The information contained on this site does not imply listed individuals will commit a specific type of crime the future. Neither does it imply that if a future crime is committed by a listed individual what the nature of that crime may be.”

3. “The department makes no representation of any offender's likelihood of re offending.

4. “If you believe that information on the web site is incorrect, please contact the Department of Corrections Sex Offender Registration Program at (801) 495-7700 or sending email to registry@utah.gov

5. “Pursuant to Utah Code Annotated Section 77-41-10(1), members of the public are not allowed to use the information to harass or threaten offenders or members of their families; and harassment, stalking, or threats against offenders or their families are prohibited. Doing so may violate Utah criminal laws.”

If you agree to these terms and conditions, then check the appropriate box. When you click the next button, which says “continue, ” you will enter the searching area of the website. The new page is similar with the Utah Department of Corrections logo on the top with a search box and series of icons underneath. Each of these is important.

Clicking the first icon will take you to the search options on the next page.

Clicking the second icon will take you to a page where you can sign up for free email alerts. You will be asked to give your location, provide an email address, read a notification contract and view their privacy policy. In return, you will receive an email whenever a offender moves into your area. This is helpful because offenders move frequently. You may confidentially sign up emails for as many locations as you wish.

If you click on the safety tips icon, you will be offered printable handouts that give information about the registry. These handouts will answer questions such as:

1. How do I know who is a sex offender?
2. Who is required to register?
3. What information do offenders have to register?
4. When are offenders required to register?
5. What do I do if a sex offender approaches me or my child?

Clicking on the links icon will lead you to laws governing sex offenders and helpful websites.

If you would like to contact the Utah Department of Corrections with regard to the registry, click on the last icon on the far right. You will be taken to this page, where guidelines related to the use of the registry are again emphasized. Specifically, these are:

1. This information is meant to educate you about offenders in our community.
2. It has not been made available for you to take action against any individual.
3. Those individuals seeking to harass, harm, or confront an offender can be arrested and prosecuted.
4. If you have questions, contact the Utah Department of Corrections Sex and Kidnap Offender Registry.

Contact information is provided at the bottom of the page.

The next section is entitled: “Welcome.” Here you will learn about OffenderWatch, a tool used to manage the directory. The data on the registry is updated instantaneously throughout the day. You are once again invited to sign up for email alerts.

At the bottom of the page is an icon entitled “Quick tips for registering and searching for offenders.” It will lead to a printable handout on how to search the registry and view the results.

At the bottom right is a link you can use to share this information with others.

The search page has the Utah Department of Corrections logo at the top with a section below entitled “Offender Search.” This area offers multiple options for searching the registry.

First, you can search by locations. To locate offenders in your area, enter your address here. I Indicate if you want secondary addresses of offenders to be included, and if you want incarcerated offenders to be excluded.

The search result will be a map of your area with a circle and symbols representing the locations of offenders. The address you entered will be at the center of the circle and shown at the top.

The radius of the circle – in this case .25 miles, will be shown in the upper right hand corner.

The number of offenders living within the circle and the number of locations is shown in the upper left hand corner. In this case, seven offenders are living in four locations. Names of the offenders are shown in the upper right hand corner. If more than one offender is in a location, the term “Multiple Offenders” is given.

The locations on the map are numbered, and the numbers correspond with the numbers on the list. In this case, location one is listed as having multiple offenders. The name of each offender at location 1 can be obtained by clicking on “1. Multiple Offenders.” When you click on the name of an offender, offender details will be given. These will include a photo, names, addresses, a physical description, and conviction information. You can click below the photo to submit a tip to the Department of Corrections, or to track the offender.

The radius of the circle can be changed in the upper right hand corner. It is initially set at a quarter of a mile. When enlarging the radius to a mile, the address remains the same, but the circle encompasses a much larger area. Initially offender locations seem to be clustered near the center of the circle. That's because not all of the locations are shown on the first frame. With a one mile radius, 60 offenders are identified in 37 locations. To see locations further from the center, click on “next” in the lower right hand corner. The next map shows locations further from the center..

You can also search by an offender's name in addition to searching by address. You can also search by any city in Utah. This will bring a list of the registered offenders living in that city. And you can search for names of non-compliant offenders – those who have not registered their address or in some other way not complied with the Department of Corrections. In addition, you can obtain a list of all registered offenders in the State of Utah.