Understanding what a sex offender search is and how to order one is vital for making informed hiring decisions, ensuring workplace safety, and remaining legally compliant.
While the Department of Justice maintains a website where NSO information is indexed and searchable, National Crime Search includes a thorough search for sex offender status with each of our screening packages. This search offers a more comprehensive verification process to reveal or confirm sex offender status among potential hires, volunteers, or tenants to protect your organization, employees, and the general public.
In this article, we’ll explore how sex offender searches work, which information is publicly accessible, and how to use multiple tools through a qualified provider to support public safety and implement a responsible background screening strategy.
Overview
Convicted sex offenders and their crimes are registered in local, state, and/or federal databases based on jurisdiction. Whether an offense involves sexual contact or sexual acts (Tier 1) or involves Tier 2 or Tier 3 violations, these crimes (committed or attempted) are prosecuted and mandate that perpetrators abide by sex offender registration and community notification protocols; however, these requirements vary based on the local, state, and federal laws that apply to specific jurisdictions.
As we’ll explore, although severe federal penalties apply to sex offenders who fail to fulfill Sex Offender Registration requirements, occasionally, offenders will fail to register, update address information, or violate other required statutes. This can lead to incomplete or inaccurate information available to the general public and increase the need for more comprehensive searches.
Comprehensive Sex Offender Searches with National Crime Search
Although publicly accessible information can be helpful, National Crime Search ensures that your sex offender search is even more comprehensive and seamlessly integrates with each candidate’s broader background and criminal record check.
Whether it’s verifying all up-to-date personal & residential information, confirming SSN after a potential “hit” in a database, or guaranteeing compliance with local, state, and federal laws, NCS helps you gather all the information you need to ensure compliance and responsible decision-making.
If you’re screening potential new hires, volunteers, or tenants, it’s essential to conduct responsible sex offender screenings to ensure public safety and legal compliance.
Public Access vs. Comprehensive Sex Offender Searches
Although the Department of Justice hosts the Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Website, which facilitates manual searches of an individual’s sex offender status using name or location, there are some limitations to using this as the only tool to gather information about a candidate.
First, even though sex offenders are generally required to register with local, state, or national databases, some perpetrators do not register with some or all jurisdictional databases or update their location/address with these databases. This failure to register is a federal offense when required by law. Still, enforcement of registration requirements at a national level is inconsistent, especially as perpetrators live in or relocate to different jurisdictions with unique legal requirements.
Additionally, many states have enacted laws to restrict where sex offenders can live, but these and other registration laws vary by state. The Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) establishes federal standards for sex offender registration and notification nationwide, but these are guidelines that states are not strictly required to meet. Some states offer fewer requirements than others, while other states create more stringent registration and notification requirements than the federal SORNA standard.
The amount of time that a person stays registered and discoverable on a sex offender registry can also vary by jurisdiction or based on the type of crime, sentencing details, and other factors. Generally speaking, a perpetrator remains on a registry for a minimum of five years (and up to life in certain circumstances).
While a fair amount of information is available publicly, a sex offender’s Social Security number (SSN) and some other information considered personal is not available to the public on these registries, which can lead to issues in the hiring process if a more thorough background screening process isn’t conducted to verify a candidate’s SSN.
Publicly available information about a sex offender may include some or all of the following:
- The perpetrator’s name, physical description, photograph, and known aliases.
- Addresses where a perpetrator resides, and where they are or will be a student or employee.
- License plate and vehicle description of any vehicle the perpetrator owns or operates.
- Summarized text of the perpetrator’s crime(s) that resulted in mandated registration. Note: This only includes offenses resulting in conviction; arrests not leading to conviction are excluded from public access.
Ready to utilize Sex Offender Searches to protect your organization and employees? Contact us today to learn more about how NCS can keep you informed and empowered to safeguard your organization and community.
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