TRENTON
- New Jersey Attorney General Peter C.
Harvey today applauded the activation
of a national Megan’s Law sex offender
Web site that will enable parents and
concerned citizens throughout the U.S.
to obtain sex offender information nationwide
with a single Internet search.
The
New Jersey Attorney General’s Office
provided expert assistance to the U.S.
Department of Justice in developing and
implementing the national Web site, participating
in a four-state pilot project that led
to the site’s launch. The National
Sex Offender Public Registry (NSOPR),
activated late yesterday by the Department
of Justice, provides online access to
existing state and territory sex offender
registries through the Web address www.nsopr.gov.
The
ability to conduct a single Internet search
for sex offender information nationwide
will enhance the ability of parents to
protect their children, particularly those
who live near state borders or who want
to track a particular offender who may
have moved across state lines.
“New
Jersey continues to serve as a leader
nationally in implementing Megan’s
Law and enhancing the protections it provides
for children,” said Acting Governor
Richard J. Codey. “New Jersey’s
role as a pilot state in implementing
this national Web site is another example
of our commitment to ensuring that parents
have the tools and the information they
need to protect their children from sex
offenders.”
“As
a result of our collaboration with the
U.S. Department of Justice, sex offender
information is now available to the public
throughout the United States through this
national site,” said Attorney General
Harvey. “Parents can now use their
personal computers to gain immediate access
to information on sex offenders that extends
beyond the borders of their home state.
We are continuing to strive through initiatives
such as this to ensure that we fulfill
the vital goal of Megan’s Law –
informing parents about the danger of
sex offenders their children may encounter.”
The
U.S. Department of Justice requested New
Jersey’s assistance because it recognized
the national leadership role that the
New Jersey Attorney General’s Office
has assumed both in drafting and implementing
Megan’s Law and in developing law
enforcement technology. The Attorney General’s
Office and Division of State Police provided
technical and other assistance to the
Department of Justice. The three other
pilot states were Pennsylvania, Ohio and
Maryland.
“We
live in a highly mobile and technologically
advanced society in which we all enjoy
a great deal of freedom. But this freedom
means we must be diligent to protect our
citizens from sexual predators who frequently
use the Internet and travel throughout
the country,” said Colonel Rick
Fuentes, Superintendent of the New Jersey
State Police. “I'm proud of the
work our experts have done to help bring
about this national sex offender registry,
and I hope people everywhere will use
every tool available to protect the ones
they love.”
Members
of the New Jersey State Police Identification
and Information Technology Section and
the New Jersey Office of Information Technology
helped to test and refine the NSOPR as
participants in the pilot program. The
site allows data from the different systems
used by existing online registries to
be recognized and accessed through a single
national search. It allows parents and
other concerned citizens to conduct searches
free of charge across all of the available
sex offender registries and obtain results
through queries using a sex offender’s
name, county, town or zip code.
The
NSOPR currently links to 22 sites including
the District of Columbia and the following
states: New Jersey, Arizona, Colorado,
Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois,
Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland,
Nebraska, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania,
Rhode Island, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia
and Wisconsin.
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