Texas Sex Offender Registration
Program
Gary Richards
Sex Offender Registration Bureau – MSC 0230
Texas Department of Public Safety
PO Box 4143
Austin TX 78765-4143
[email protected]
(512) 424-2800
TCJIUG Conference 2017
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Stat Snapshot (April 2017)
• Texas Registry created in 1991.
• Chapter 62, Texas Code of Criminal Procedure is the law
that governs the Texas Sex Offender Registration Program.
• Approximately 90,354 reported active registered sex
offenders.
• Risk Level
–
–
–
–
–
Civil Commitment
High
Moderate
Low
Not Reported
399
5891
35374
25504
23186
• Verification Requirement
– Monthly
– Annual
– Quarterly
399
74105
13767
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Who has a duty to register?
• “Reportable Conviction” occurring on or after
09/01/70
– Reportable conviction is defined as a conviction or
adjudication, including an adjudication of
delinquent conduct or a deferred adjudication,
that, regardless of the pendency of an appeal, is a
conviction for or an adjudication for an offense
that requires registration.
– Length of duty to register ranges from post 10years to life.
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• Condition of Supervision
– Court or Board ordered requirement to register.
– Duty to register ends when the person is discharged from
supervision.
• Extra-jurisdictional Registrant
– A person who is required to register under the laws of:
• Another state with which the Department has entered into a
reciprocal registration agreement
• Federal law or the Uniform Code of Military Justice
• The laws of a foreign country;
• And is not required otherwise to register under Texas law.
– Duration of registration is for the length designated by
Federal or Military law.
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• Condition of Interstate Compact Agreement
– No reportable conviction;
– No Court or Board Ordered requirement to
register;
– Registration will be required in Texas due to the
sending state has a requirement for sex offender
registration in the receiving state.
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Information Tx Registrars Need to
Initially Register a Person
• Proof of identity from the registrant.
• Proof of address.
• Information on offense requiring registration
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Offense Literal
Statute Citation
Date of Offense
Cause Numbers
Victim Information (Sex, Age, Relationship)
Disposition Date
Sentence
Discharge from Supervision Date (Documentation preferred)
Court documents are preferred. All documents submitted to
the registry are archived in the registrant’s file when a person
is identified as a sex offender registrant in the Registry.
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Out of State, Out of Country, Federal and
Military
• Any person with a Conviction or an Adjudication
of Delinquent Conduct on or after 09/01/70, and
has an offense with “substantially similar”
elements to any registrable Texas offense.
• No Deferreds or Deferred Adjudications.
• Statute designates the Department of Public
Safety as the authority to make determinations of
similar elements of offense for purposes of the
registration law.
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Determinations of Similar Elements of
Offense
• Determining whether an offense under the laws
of another state, federal law, the laws of a foreign
country, or the Uniform Code of Military Justice
contains elements that are substantially similar to
the elements of an offense under the laws of this
state.
• DPS is required to provide listings of offenses that
it has determined to be substantially similar
• Appeal of any determination shall be brought in a
District Court in Travis County, Tx.
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• Determinations are compiled by state or
jurisdiction.
• Determinations are published and accessible
thru the DPS sponsored Sex Offender
Registration Web Site.
• Lists are updated as new determinations are
made or case law requires an amendment to a
previous offense determination.
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Registration Events
• Registration – Event that initially registers a person and
a process that creates a record in the Texas Sex
Offender Registry (SOR Web Site).
• Verification – Event that confirms registration
information with the local law enforcement and
process that verifies the information is correct.
– Monthly
– Quarterly
– Annually
• Update – Process that maintains the information.
– Changes in certain information required for registration
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Duties Imposed Upon Registrant
(General)
• Register with the local law enforcement agency in the
jurisdiction where ever they reside or intend to reside
for more than 7 days.
• Personally appear before that local law enforcement
agency periodically and verify their registration.
• Report any changes of address within 7 days.
• Apply for an annual renewable DL/ID card.
• Report certain status changes (name, health, job,
educational, online identifiers) within 7 days.
• Report attendance, employment or vocation at
Institutions of Higher Educations.
• Notify instances of certain worker or student (live in Tx
but work or attend school in another state).
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Penal Institution or Court
CR-32/CR-32PE
CR-35/OS/IS
CR-35 Not./OS/IS
Notification
Registration
CR-36
Photo
Police Dept /
Sheriff’s Office
Department of Public Safety
TCIC/NCIC
Secure/Public Web
Sites
National Sex
Offender Public
Web Site
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Non Texas Offense Registration
Police Dept or Sheriff’s Office
CR-32
CR-35/OS/IS
Registration
CR-35/OS/IS
CR-36
Photo
Department of Public Safety
TCIC/NCIC
Secure/Public Web
Sites
National Sex
Offender
Public Web Site 19
SORNA Portal and Texas
• Texas was one of the last states to participate
in the use of the Portal.
• Texas has integrated the Portal with the Texas
Sex Offender Registry (database/web site).
• Agencies who have access to the Registry are
forwarded Relocation Tasks.
– Agencies are able to respond to tasks.
– Agencies can create Relocation Tasks on
registrants leaving Texas to another jurisdiction.
– Agencies can see their assigned tasks and search
for other tasks.
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Contact Information
Sex Offender Registration Bureau
Crime Records Service - MSC 0230
Texas Department of Public Safety
PO Box 4143
Austin, TX 78765-4143
Email
General
Fax
[email protected]
(512) 424-2800
(512) 424-7702
Support Operations [email protected]
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Field Representatives
(512) 424-2800
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Intelligence and Counterterrorism (ICT) – Compliance
Email
General
Fax
[email protected]
(512) 377-0010
(512) 424-5434
Combined DNA Indexing System (CODIS)
Email
DNA Inquiries and
Collection Kits
[email protected]
(512) 424-2790
Driver License Division (CSO DL/ID’s)
General
(512) 424-2600
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