Connecticut Governor Rell Announces $1 Million to Improve ‘Megan’s Law’ Database in Next Bond Package

September 5, 2007 -- Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell today announced that a $1 million allocation to help overhaul and improve Connecticut’s “Megan’s Law” on-line sex offender registry will be included in the next bond package.

The improvements will include new functions that allow users to create pin-point maps showing where registered sex offenders live and work; provide more complete information about offenders, including descriptions of their crimes; and automate information-sharing between state agencies to ensure that all state agencies (such as the Department of Children and Families, the Department of Social Services, the Board of Pardons and Paroles, the Department of Correction, etc.) have the most accurate data available when making day-to-day decisions.

“These are the most important changes we have made to ‘Megan’s Law’ since the registry was first established in Connecticut in 1998,” Governor Rell said. “First, the changes will improve the usefulness of the system for Connecticut’s parents and caregivers: With this sweeping update, searches can be conducted by a number of different variables including name, alias, ZIP code and town. Residents will also be able to get automatic, e-mail updates whenever offenders move into their area.

“Equally important, these changes will enhance the ability of law enforcement to track offenders and identify those who fail to meet the reporting requirements,” the Governor said. “The overhaul will allow instant updates to local law enforcement and the FBI’s National Crime Information Center, while supporting the ‘in-person’ verification and additional information collection requirements spelled out in the federal Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006.”

Connecticut’s “Megan’s Law” sex offender registry was created by law passed during the 1997 legislative session and established in 1998. Like similar databases in the other states, it is named after 7-year-old Megan Kanka of New Jersey, who was killed in 1994 by a sex offender living near her home.

“Connecticut was a national leader when the sex offender registry was first established,” said Department of Public Safety Commissioner John A. Danaher III. “These changes will again bring us to the forefront in having the most effective registry possible.”

The Connecticut sex offender registry is accessible on-line through the DPS at www.ct.gov/dps. A link for the registry is located on the left-hand side of the agency home page. The sex offender registry is the most-viewed page on the DPS site, which receives more than 1.3 million hits a year. However, the current web site and database were written in a programming language that the Department of Information Technology and the vendor can no longer support.

In December 2005, Governor Rell announced that Connecticut’s database had been added to the National Sex Offender Public Registry, www.nsopr.gov.

Source: Connecticut Governor