On Monday, the Crenshaw County Sheriff’s Office participated in a workshop focussed on sex offender policies and procedures.

During this workshop, all members of the Sheriff’s Office were given an updated course on the rules and regulations regarding sex offenders and the policies for handling these situations.

In 2003, there were approximately 455,000 registered sex offenders in the United States.

As of yesterday, the Sheriff’s Office reported 54 registered sex offenders in Crenshaw County.

“There was not enough emphasis placed on the issue, in my opinion. Everybody needed to go to a school and be updated on it. That’s the reason I got the class to be taught so we could be abreast of the new rules and regulations. We need to know what’s required of us as a Sheriff’s Office and what is required from the sex offenders themselves,” said Crenshaw County Sheriff Mickey Powell.

Offenders must report to the Sheriff’s Office quarterly to become updated on any policy or procedure changes. During this visit, offenders must sign a form stating they have read the information and agree to the terms, otherwise they are subject to serving jail time for any infractions.

Powell hopes to have a website for the Crenshaw County Sheriff’s Office up and running in the coming weeks. According to Powell, an updated list of county sex offenders will be posted on this site once it is finished.

“Hopefully within the next month or so, we’re going to have a website up, and we’ll have the sex offenders posted where everyone will know who they are and where they live,” said Powell.

According to Powell, when a registered sex offender moves, it is the job of the Sheriff’s Office to investigate fully to ensure that everything is done according the the standards set by the state and country. The office will send a flyer of the offender to the area in which he or she intents to move in order to notify the surrounding citizens.

“When they get ready to move, we have to go out and check where they’re moving to make sure it’s not close to a school or daycare. It entails a lot. We went out yesterday and arrested one sex offender, and visited all 54 of them. I think we have their attention. We’re for real, and we’re serious about this,” said Powell.

Powell and his office work diligently to ensure that this matter is handled promptly and efficiently. The issues surrounding sex offenders in Crenshaw County has always been a cause Powell felt strongly called to handle, and with his position of Sheriff he now has the capability to get matters managed.

The office will also perform regular checks on the offenders to ensure they are in compliance with the rules set by the state. Officers will be dispatched to the homes of the offenders at random times in order to ensure they are in their homes and abiding by the rules.

“It’s our job to make sure they are doing what they are supposed to be. But in the same token, if a sex offender comes in and they’ve been given the guidelines of what the new rules are that we are going by, they will be okay if they follow them. If they don’t do what we tell them, they’re going to jail,” said Powell.