May 7, 2008
Gary Davidson
Public Information Officer

SHERIFF’S OFFICE LAUNCHES NEW SEX OFFENDER ALERT SYSTEM 

A program that allows residents to keep track of convicted sexual offenders with just a few simple computer keystrokes is now available through the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office web site.

Several months in the works, the OffenderWatch program was launched this week on the Sheriff’s Office’s Internet site, www.volusia.org/sheriff. Free to users, the program gives residents a new way to monitor the home address of convicted sexual offenders in their neighborhood. Residents also can sign up to be notified by e-mail alerts when sexual offenders move nearby. The database is maintained and updated by the Sheriff’s Office and also is used by deputies to conduct address compliance checks on sexual offenders. The web site went operational on Monday. “We’re very excited to be able to provide the OffenderWatch program to our residents and visitors to our web site,” said Sheriff Ben Johnson. “This is an excellent use of technology and a very good tool to help families protect themselves and assess the public safety risks where they live, work and go to school as well as other neighborhood places where people congregate.”

OffenderWatch can be accessed through two different portals on the Sheriff’s Office web site. Computer users can either click on the distinctive green Sex OffenderWatch icon on the Sheriff’s Office’s home page or select the E-Mail Alerts option on the Sex Offenders pull-down menu. Both portals link to the Sheriff’s Office’s new sexual offender/predator search page. From there, residents can sign up for e-mail notifications when convicted sexual offenders move within a one-mile radius of any designated address. Residents can designate multiple addresses for e-mail notification purposes. Computer users also can search for all offenders by city or within a one-mile radius of any location in the county. Community awareness fliers, crime prevention and public safety tips and links to other public safety web sites also are posted on the web page. And upgrades already are in the works to provide brief descriptions of each offender and new map and search features. The sexual offender database is maintained by the Sheriff’s Office’s Career Criminal Unit.

“The Sheriff’s Office utilizes technology to aggressively monitor convicted sexual offenders,” said Sheriff Johnson. “OffenderWatch puts that technology at the public’s fingertips and enhances citizen awareness about the potential risks around us. This is vital information that will help prevent victimization and keep our community safe.”