Louisville, KY. - Appriss Inc. has been chosen to build an enhanced, web-based Indiana Sex Offender Registry through a joint project involving Governor Mitch Daniels, the state's Department of Correction, Sheriffs' Association, State Police, and Criminal Justice Institute. The new Indiana Sheriffs' Sex Offender Registry in will be launched in January 2006.
"Among the problems I learned about in the past two years are defects and gaps in our system of keeping track of known sex offenders. We need unification of our efforts, and that is what we will accomplish with this new sex offender registry," said Governor Mitch Daniels at a news conference to announce the project. "We won't stop working on this problem until we have a system that is absolutely leakproof."
The new registry will provide new functionality, including mapping and tracking of sex offenders. It will be designed to comply with state and federal requirements, including accurate information on sex offenders. The general public will be able to access information from a single website, www.indianasheriffs.org, maintained by the Indiana Sheriffs' Association.
Photos, residential addresses, and other information on sex offenders will be provided to the public. The mapping tool will enable users to locate sex offenders living near schools, child care centers, and parks. The registry may also be searched by city, county or ZIP code. The search will show a complete profile for the sex offender, including the offender's conviction.
The site will also be integrated with the National Sex Offender Public Registry (NSOPR), coordinated by the U.S. Department of Justice. NSOPR, which can be accessed online at www.nsopr.org., is a cooperative effort between the state agencies hosting public sex offender registries and the Federal government.
"By providing advanced technology solutions and accurate information to the public, law enforcement officials, and our partners on the national level, we can move a step closer to tracking predators," said J. David Donahue, commissioner of the Indiana Department of Correction. "We will continue to take an aggressive approach as sex offenders leave the DOC's custody by making sure that registration takes place prior to their re-entry into the community."
Appriss has also created sex offender registry websites for the Nebraska State Patrol and the Kentucky State Police.
About Appriss Appriss provides innovative technology solutions that help governments serve and protect their citizens. Its flagship product, VINE (Victim Information and Notification Everyday), is available in more than 1,500 communities in 40 states, including 20 of the nation's largest metropolitan areas. In addition to VINE, Appriss has worked with a team led by AT&T Government Solutions Inc. to provide automated notification services to victims of Federal crimes through the U.S. Department of Justice. Other innovative products and services include Alertxpress®, a high-speed notification solution for government agencies; JusticeXchange™, an Integrated Criminal Justice application; and JusticeBridge™, a scalable framework for the development of county and statewide integrated justice platforms.