Ohio sex offender tracking procedures

Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray last Wednesday announced that a two-tiered program, in part utilizing an automated message to remind offenders of their appointments, and, secondly, reimbursing sheriff's offices for tracking down some 50 high-level offenders who have fled the state, funded with $155,546 in federal grant money.

The first program, called “Active Contact,” is an automated system that calls registered sex offenders to remind them when they are due to renew their registration with Ohio's electronic Sex Offender Registration and Notification system, as required by law., a Port Clinton, Ohio NewsHerald article, last week, said. Although several states use the system in areas where there are high concentrations of sex offenders, Ohio, Louisiana, and Utah are the only three using it state-wide.

The second program gives sheriff's offices up to $2,000 in reimbursement to travel out of state to pick up a wanted Tier III sex offender, the most serious designation requiring checking in with the sheriff's office every three months for life.