Selected questions from Dru Sjodin FAQs
Based on the Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Website and related to the Safety Member Certification training module "Protecting Children from Abuse."[1][2]
From the Bible
The Bible promotes knowledge, truth, discernment, and removal of evil.
“You shall not spread a false report. You shall not join hands with a wicked man to be a malicious witness" (Exodus 23:1).
“... So thou shalt put the evil away from among you” (Deuteronomy 17:7b; see also 17:12; 19:19; 21:21; 22;21.22,24; and 24:7).
Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked ... (Malachi 3:18a).
“Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad ...” (1 Kings 3:9a).
... be ready always to give an answer ...(1 Peter 3:15).
Introduction
Knowing about sexual abuse and identifying offenders are needed to prevent sexual abuse and to respond to it. The purpose of the Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Website (Dru Sjodin) is to help us to have that knowledge and to identify offenders. It is easier to use this resource when we know more about the site itself and how it works. Dru Sjodin has a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page to help us with that.
In the News
* There are reasons local churches should use the sex-offender registries:
Nationwide, August 22, 2019 - As of mid-2019, a number of denominations, including the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), have been helping their congregations to use databases that are searchable to vet applicants for employment and volunteer work. As an example, the SBC has a program called OneSource which gives the churches access to a background checking service. They stress using national sex offender registries.[3]
Nashville, Tennessee, October 15, 2021 and May 27, 2022 - In October 2021, the chairman of the SBC Executive Committee resigned. This was because of division within the committee regarding how reports of sexual abuse had been handled. The following May (2022), the results of a third-party investigation of sexual abuse reports within the denomination was released. This included a list of accused abusers which had been kept secret for about 20 years.[4][5][6]
* Someone in a church was rightly suspicious:
Paducah, Kentucky, March 21, 2023 - Police were called when a man came into a church asking for money to buy a bus ticket to Bowling Green. Responding officers found a resident of a half-way house who was a registered sex offender. A month earlier he had been released from prison on parole to the half-way house in Paducah. His parole conditions included not going to places with daycare centers. This church has a daycare center. In 2003 in another county, he had been convicted of sexual abuse. The victims were two girls, ages 5 and 9. In 2016 he pled guilty to violating sex-offender registry conditions.[7][8]
* Find out how to use the state site:
Albany, New York, no date - The sex-offender registry site for New York State begins with a description of the site ("created by the state's Sex Offender Registry" and a link to the search page itself.[9]
* Are the terms fair:
Chicago, Illinois, July 2016 - Five registered sex offenders, including at least one in Chicago, have filed lawsuits against the State of Illinois. They claim the terms are way too restrictive. For example, a 77-uear-old offender who was convicted 15 years earlier can't even visit his daughter's family because some of her children are still minors. One claim is that the law does not differentiate by the level of the offenses. Also, most churches are off-limits. However, now (seven years later) there is at least one church they can legally attend.[10]
* The information can be misused:
Montgomery, Alabama, March 23, 2023 - An extortionist has been using sex-offender registries to blackmail those on the list and those with same or similar names. The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency has issued a warning about the scam. The agency discovered that one or more persons were mining Alabama's list for names of potential victims. The extortionist phones an offender claiming to be a police officer collecting either "bail" or "fines." A notice on the registry site says the information "should not be used to threaten, intimidate, or harass." Doing so is a crime.[11][12]
Videocast, Podcast, and Free Download
Kris Moloney covers this subject in a Sheepdog Church Security Academy videocast and a Church Security Roll Call podcast. His resources include his professional experience (military, law enforcement, church security).[13][14]
We also have a free download for you: "A Code to Live By." This is a childcare giver's code of conduct for your church's safety ministry. Click *HERE* to get it.[15]
Using the Sex Offender Registry
It helps to know how to use a site you are searching. With a subject as critically important as protecting children from sexual abuse, this knowledge is vital. This is true for both state and national sites. That is the purpose of the FAQ (Frequently-Asked Questions) page on the Dru Sjodin site. The questions and answers are organized into four categories: General Registry Questions, Technical Questions, Searching Questions, and Administrative Questions. We'll consider a few. Visit the site and see the rest. Also, check the FAQ page if you have questions about your search.
General Registry Questions
I want to find out more information about a sex offender who is listed on your website. What should I do?
First, the Dru Sjodin site lists offenders which are listed on the registries of jurisdictions. A search for offenders can be by Name or by Location. When searching by Name you can search all states, territories, and Indian Country (about 150 tribal territories), search a state or territory, or search an Indian Country.
How does this work? If you search for J*** B**** (full names are not used here to avoid singling out one or more individuals) in Kansas, you get one record (at the time of this writing). If you search for J*** B**** in all jurisdictions, your get 55 records.
To get more information, click on the offender's photo. This takes you to that offender's page on the registry of the jurisdiction. In this case, the record shows his residence and an alias he has used. Now click the photo on the state site, and there is more information available. This includes his first, middle, and last names, his gender, race, ethnicity, and date of birth, his primary address, height, weight, hair color, and eye color. Further down is the offense. If you want more information about an offender, contact authorities in that jurisdiction.
What are "jurisdictions"?
A jurisdiction is a state, a U.S territory, or Indian Country (tribal territories, including reservations and other sovereign native jurisdictions). U.S. Territories include American Samoa, District of Columbia, Guam, Northern Marianna Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Does NSOPW have a single national database of all registered sex offenders from the registry jurisdictions that participate with NSOPW?
The Dru Sjodin site does not have a registry of sex offenders. It uses the terms submitted to web-search databases of the jurisdictions.
Technical Questions
Does NSOPW offer a web service or an application programming interface (API) so searches can be done programmatically?
It does not. The browser web search initiated on the Dru Sjodin site takes the user to whatever API the jurisdiction uses. Let's say you've received results in more than one jurisdiction by selecting "Search all States, Territories, and Indian Country." Each jurisdiction has its own API. Therefore, the appearances are different, and the types of information listed may also differ.
Searching Questions
I cannot find a sex offender who should be on your website. What should I do?
If you do believe that someone needs to be on a registry, then contact the officials in charge of the registry in the respective locality.
By the way, citizens contacting authorities is how many failures to register in a local area have been found out.
What are the different ways to search for offenders?
Let me quote this answer:
"NSOPW's advanced search tool provides information about sex offenders through a number of search options:
- By Name
- By Address (if provided by Jurisdiction)
- By Jurisdiction
- By ZIP Code
- By County (if provided by Jurisdiction)
- By City/Town (if provided by Jurisdiction)
- National"
By the way, we need to verify the information. To do this, contact the jurisdiction and/or locality.
Administrative Questions
How is NSOPW different from the FBI's National Sex Offender Registry?
The FB I's registry is only for law enforcement use. The NSOPW (Dru Sjodin site) is publicly available. No badge needed.
Conclusion
Knowing about a website and how to use it helps us to get better results. Such is the case with the Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Website.
Training Notes
Screening for sex offenders is only one aspect of protecting children, youth, and vulnerable adults in the church from abuse (this also includes kidnapping). The Safety Member Certification training module "Protecting Children from Abuse" covers the subject from policies and procedures to responding to abuse. This training is not only for Church Safety Team members, but also for church leadership and for childcare and youth activity staff and volunteers, including teachers and coaches. Those not on the Safety Team can audit this class - taking it not for credit toward certification, but as special training for their area of work in the church.
The three training formats are Individual Certification (self-paced online instruction), Team Certification (church-hosted classes), and Online Events (live Zoom classes).
The Online Events 2022-2023 school year is in the fourth quarter. The next class - "Protecting Children from Abuse" - is the one for this article. Students signing up now can complete their certification when the 2023-2024 school year begins in September. However, they do not have to wait that long. They can use Individual Certification to complete the course sooner.
Color coding: |
Related to Article |
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Training Module |
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Sep 11 |
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Jan 29 |
Mar 26 |
Safety Team Fundamentals |
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2 |
Sep 18 |
Nov 20 |
Feb 5 |
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Active Shooter Response |
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Deescalating Disruptive Persons |
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Protecting Children from Abuse |
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Basic Use of Force Laws |
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Another training resource is the Church Security Guide. It includes the article "Protection of Children and Vulnerable Adults in the Church." This covers the subject deeply. It can be used to prepare for taking the training module, as well as refreshing and reviewing later.[16][17]
Up Next
The article following this one is "2014 Bayshore Baptist Church Shooting" (Lesson Learned).
References
- Staff, "Frequently Asked Questions," Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Website [https://www.nsopw.gov/en/FAQ].
- Kris Moloney, "Protecting Children from Abuse," Safety Member Certification, Sheepdog Church Security, © 2020 [https://sheepdog-church-security.thinkific.com/].
- Yonat Shimron, "Churches are checking sex offender registry, but is it helping?," The Christian Century, August 22, 2019 [https://www.christiancentury.org/article/news/churches-are-checking-sex-offender-registry-it-helping].
- The Associated Press, "Southern Baptist leader resigns amid internal division over sex abuse review," NPR, October 15, 2021 [https://www.npr.org/2021/10/15/1046263333/southern-baptist-leader-resigns-amid-internal-division-over-sex-abuse-review].
- The Associated Press, "Southern Baptist leaders release a previously secret list of accused sexual abusers," NPR, May 27, 2022 [https://www.npr.org/2022/05/27/1101734793/southern-baptist-sexual-abuse-list-released].
- Rebecca Falconer, "Southern Baptist Convention publishes list of accused sex abusers," Axios, May 27, 2022 [https://www.axios.com/2022/05/27/southern-baptist-convention-publishes-list-of-accused-sex-abusers].
- Sun Staff, "Man arrested for parole violation; failure to register," The Paducah Sun, March 22, 2023 [https://www.paducahsun.com/news/man-arrested-for-parole-violation-failure-to-register/article_65835a1b-f7bc-5887-960f-744c796c4ee8.html].
- West Kentucky Star Staff, "Man arrested at local church for violations of sex offender registry, parole," West Kentucky Star, March 22, 2023 [https://westkentuckystar.com/News/Local-Regional/Man-arrested-at-local-church-for-violations-of-sex].
- Criminal Justice Services Staff, "Search Sex Offender Registry," New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services, undated [https://www.ny.gov/services/search-sex-offender-registry].
- Robert McCoppin, "Sex offenders sue, saying registry laws keep them from church, living with family," Chicago Tribune, July 24, 2016 [https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-sex-offender-registry-suit-met-20160724-story.html].
- Alabama News Network Staff, "ALEA Warns of Scam Involving State Sex Offender Registry," Alabama News Network, March 23, 2023 [https://www.alabamanews.net/2023/03/23/alea-warns-of-scam-involving-state-sex-offender-registry/].
- Alabama Law Enforcement Staff, "Disclaimer" on the "Sheriff Alerts" page of the "Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Sex Offender Registry," State of Alabama Law Enforcement, no date given [https://sheriffalerts.com/cap_office_disclaimer.php?office=54247&fwd=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5jb21tdW5pdHlub3RpZmljYXRpb24uY29tL2NhcF9tYWluLnBocD9vZmZpY2U9NTQyNDc=].
- Kris Moloney, Sheepdog Church Security Academy, YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTrrcSlOn6zG1ySOHYzQkdQ].
- Kris Moloney, Church Security Roll Call, SoundCloud [https://soundcloud.com/churchsecurityrollcall].
- Kris Moloney, "A Code to Live By," Sheepdog Church Security, © Copyright 2018 [https://sheepdog-church-security.ck.page/f512da9e07].
- Kris Moloney, Church Security Guide, Sheepdog Church Security, 2018 [https://sheepdogchurchsecurity.net/church-security-guide].
- Kris Moloney, "Protection of Children and Vulnerable Adults in the Church," Sheepdog Church Security, 2018 [https://sheepdogchurchsecurity.net/child-and-vulnerable-adults/].