"It is a tremendous tool that enables citizens across the nation access to public sex-offender information beyond their own neighborhood or state registry through a single search," Kempthorne said. "As a state and nation, we must do everything we can to protect the public -- especially our children -- from the terrible and senseless acts of a sex offender."
In May, U.S. Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales announced the expedited design and delivery of a national registry Web site to allow citizens to search already existing public state and territory sex offender registries.
The new site National Sex Offender Public Registry provides parents and other concerned citizens with immediate access to sex offender information from multiple state registries using the Internet.
Rather than creating a new database, the National Sex Offender Public Registry taps into existing state databases -- such as the Idaho State Police's Sex Offender Registry -- to ensure that the public receives the most up-to-date information available for a particular offender. Through any web-capable computer, citizens can enter a name, ZIP code, country or other query to search for registered sex offenders across the nation.
"Recent tragic events in our own state have shown that, while much has been accomplished to register sex offenders in the communities in which they live, sex offenders can and do leave their 'registered' areas every day," Kempthorne said. "Real time access to public registry information nationwide is a vital step in protecting a child's life, reducing and preventing crimes and violence nationwide."
