Photo: Bill Shaw/WFIU-WTIU News
The Indiana Sheriff's Association says improvements may need to be made to how the state's sex offender registry is used.
The Indiana Sheriff‘s Association plans to look at Indiana‘s sex offender registry laws to make recommendations for changes that will bring the registry into compliance with federal laws.
ISA Executive Director Stephen Luce says the requirements for the registry have changed so many times that there’s uncertainty about how it’s used and who makes the list which makes the registry subject to legal challenges.
“It‘s become pretty complex to the point where, actually it‘s confusing for them,” Luce says. “You might have a difference of interpretation from the sheriff‘s officer who is responsible for registering the person to the prosecutor to the attorney general‘s office to the department of corrections legal team.”
Noncompliance with federal guidelines has also cost Indiana hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal grant monies for local law enforcement agencies. Luce says a committee is being appointed to look at the state‘s criminal code in relation to the registry and make recommendations for revision. Luce adds Indiana is one of several states not in federal compliance so the issues are widespread across the nation.
