I want to touch on an issue that is a high priority within the Sheriff’s Office. Sex Offender compliance and Violent Offender compliance is an area that we take very seriously. Administrative Assistant Julie Padgett has the task of keeping up with these folks. Folks who have been convicted of sex related crimes or violent crimes are often required to register with the local authorities. If folks live outside a municipality, then this job goes to the local Sheriff. We currently have approximately 100 offenders that we are responsible for. Sex offenders are assigned levels by the state Sex Offender Registry. Sex offenders cannot reside within 2000 feet of a school, a licensed daycare or park. The offenders cannot loiter within 500 feet of these places. A Level III offender is required to report every 90 days to verify residency. The offender must reveal who is living at this residence, place of employment, and the tag number and description of the motor vehicle that they drive. Level II offenders must report every six months with the same requirements. Level I offenders must report one time a year. Transients must report weekly if there is no permanent residence on file. We currently have two part-time deputies that go out weekly to verify all the information that the offender has provided. If the offender is out of compliance, the deputies can make an arrest or complete a report to our district attorney asking for charges for failure to comply with sex offender registration. The Violent Offenders are required to register once a year. These offenders have three days to notify Julie if any changes occur with residency, employment or vehicles. If you are wondering if any of these offenders live nearby, you can go to our website (pittsburgsheriff.com) and click on the offender tab. From there you will be linked to the state offender registration. Click on the map search option and you can enter your address and find any registered offender within a five mile radius. The same process can be used to locate Violent Offenders. This will allow citizens to know first hand if any of these folks are living in close proximity. Most of these offenders stay in compliance because of the consequences they may face if convicted. This is one of the services we provide to our citizens with our website. You can submit a tip to the website and we will follow up with any information we receive. We are currently working on other services to add to the page, including an alert to your cell phone to notify folks of any major breaking news (escape by inmate, major traffic snarls, any other major news that needs to be circulated quickly). We will continue to keep you informed of any news or future events where we will be in attendance. Stay safe and contact us anytime.
Sheriff Frankie McClendon
