Mesa Police Announce OffenderWatch
September 2, 2010
Police Chief Frank Milstead and the Mesa Police Department,
announce they are one of the first Phoenix metro agencies to
implement the OffenderWatch sex offender database.
OffenderWatch allows agencies to collaborate and share
information in order to provide law enforcement agencies
information concerning sex offender movements, history and
activities anywhere in the county or the State. In the near
future, additional agencies in the metro area and throughout the
state are expected to be onÂÂÂline with OffenderWatch.
The OffenderWatch program implements an innovative
electronic registration and inter-agency pre-registration and
alerting system designed especially for Arizona processes - when
an offender is registered with the Sheriff's Office, that
information is immediately and electronically made available to
the managing agency where the offender lives. Then, Mesa
detectives will contact and interview the offender, verify their
address, collect additional data, and arrange for the community
notification. All data collected about the offender will now be
housed in an electronic, internet accessible form, so any law
enforcement officer whose agency is on-line with OffenderWatch
will be able to access the record. Also, all data collected on
the offender follows with him as he moves from jurisdiction to
jurisdiction, enabling much more effective supervision by law
enforcement.
The Mesa Police Department is also now making available on their
web site, a citizen-friendly, very easy to use sex offender
registry, enabling citizens to search for the presence of
registered sex offenders in proximity to their homes, place of
work, schools and daycares. This information will be accessible
any time day or night via OffenderWatch. All partner
agency databases are linked together, enabling seamless display
of offenders from any jurisdiction in the County or region.
The OffenderWatch database will enable citizens
anywhere in the City to view maps and register for notifications
concerning offenders that live in areas that are of interest to
the viewer. These notifications will be sent to the citizen via
their e-mail address. They will be alerted if an offender should
register an address within the preferred radius of the citizen's
registered address. They can also be notified if a specific
offender moves from his or her present address. Citizens may
register as many addresses as they like, at no cost to them.
These addresses can include homes, work addresses, parks,
playgrounds, bus stops, etc.. The purpose of the program is to
promote sex offender awareness by proactively alerting the
citizens of Mesa should an offender move within close proximity
to them.
Citizens can access the Mesa Police Department OffenderWatch
Community Web Page 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at the Mesa
Police Department's web site at
http://www.mesaaz.gov/police.