Friday, April 18, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
Senate OKs searchable sex offender Internet list
By RYAN PEARSON
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
CARSON CITY -- It would be easier to find and track Nevada's worst sex offenders under a measure approved unanimously Thursday by the Senate.
Senate Bill 218 would pave the way for a statewide, searchable Nevada sex predator Internet listing. It would allow for broad geographic searches and for the release of details including offenders' aliases, work place, school and home ZIP code.
The bill also ensures that searching the state's registry of sex offenders is free.
Under current law, the state Department of Public Safety releases criminal histories only if searchers know the sex offenders' names and specifics such as address, eye color or Social Security number. While some local police agencies maintain Web listings, there is no state Web site.
Daryl Riersgard, who heads the state criminal history repository, has said the registry gets 2,500 phone calls about suspected sex offenders per year, and predicted that number would jump dramatically under the bill. Cost to the state would be minimal.
Offenders must register with local police once they're released from prison and whenever they move. They also must report annually to the state Department of Public Safety.
SB218 now moves to the Assembly.
The Senate also unanimously passed Senate Bill 303 by Sen. Dennis Nolan, R-Las Vegas, which would allow any nonprofit group or private school to screen new employees by searching the state's criminal history repository.
Employers also could search for convictions for murder and other felony crimes in addition to the currently allowed sex offenses.
The bill would not require any group to do background checks or fingerprinting, and searches could only be made with the employee's or applicant's consent.
