Texas Struggles with Sex Offender Law Compliance
Texas, like other states, are struggling to comply with sex offender registration requirements set forth through the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act. Learn more about Adam's law and why the Texas legislature is ambivalent about following all the requirements.

February 02, 2012 /24-7PressRelease/ -- In July 2006, Congress passed the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act (known as Adam's law) to protect children from violent sex offenders. The law, named after a six-year-old Florida boy who was kidnapped in murdered in 1981, required states to create and maintain registry systems for sex offenders, that would correspond with a national registry system.

Sex offenders would be classified in a three-tier system, based on the severity of their crimes, their psychological makeup, as well as their respective likelihood of reoffending. Offenders would be required to provide a bevy of information for the registry, including their name, multiple addresses, license plate numbers and descriptions of any vehicles the offender owned or currently operates, as well as finger prints, DNA samples, and current photographs. State registries would also maintain records of each offender's arrests, convictions and current confinement and release status.

The Act further required registered sex offenders to appear periodically before law enforcement to verify their current addresses, and to provide notification if they relocated to another state or jurisdiction. States were also required to create new criminal offenses for those who did not comply with the notification provisions. States were given a five-year window to incorporate the Act.

Despite federal funding, many states have not complied with the Act. Texas, for example finds it difficult financially to bear the cost of registering offenders (including low level offenders) and enforcing notification requirements. A 2010 study conducted by the Texas Senate found that following all the Act's registration requirements would cost about $39 million. This would include the cost of new technology to register digital fingerprints, palm prints and DNA, and additional time that law enforcement officers to processing and monitor sex offenders.

Legislators further contend that the state's current sex offender system, which currently handles more than 66,000 registered sex offenders, could not accommodate all the Act's registration requirements, and would only add to the strain of a system already beset by funding challenges. With cost cutting being an important consideration, it remains to be seen whether the legislature will authorize the additional funds necessary to comply with Adam's law.

Press Release Contact Information:

FL Web Advantage