Offender Registries/Community Notification

Programs that seek to prevent released offenders, particularly those who are violent, from committing new crimes by requiring them to register with local law enforcement officials or other agencies; and/or or by authorizing or requiring that probation and parole departments, law enforcement agencies, or prosecutor offices disseminate information about released or about to be released offenders to the community at large, generally via newspapers, television, community meetings or posting lists of released offender names on the Internet. In most jurisdictions, community notification is reserved for sex offenders.