OffenderWatch was featured in Government Technology magazine in their article, "Police Hope Software Can Help Avoid 'Losing' Sex Offenders." OffenderWatch helps improve investigations by increasing agency efficiency through the use of one offender record, updated in real time.

Read the story.

OffenderWatch was featured in The Advocate and St. Tammany Farmer newspapers. Read the full article.

BY TARA MCLELLAN | Special to The Farmer

A local company has been aiding law enforcement for nearly 20 years, providing critical information on sex offenders to more than 3,000 agencies nationwide.

With a new app called Safe Virtual Neighborhood set to launch in late February, WatchSystems, which is located in Covington, is moving forward in a way that also may change how families approach personal and online safety.

The app will help parents keep a close eye on their kids’ devices, said Mike Cormaci, co-founder of WatchSystems, who has five kids of his own.

All registered sex offenders are required to provide updated cellphone information, which the Safe Virtual Neighborhood app will store. Parents can upload the application to their kids’ phones, and if a sex offender communicates with them via text, Snapchat, email or phone call, parents will get an alert on their own device.

Cormaci designed the technology to track sex offenders in 2002. The idea came him as a light-bulb moment while on the job.

“My partner Lou Luzynski and I worked together (previously) at Fuel Man, the nation’s largest fleet fueling card company,” he said. “Our cards tracked the fuel that was used, how much, and where. I got started thinking, what if law enforcement could use our mapping technology to help them track crime.

"I started talking to a member of the California Sheriff’s Association during my travels, and he said, ‘I don’t need help tracking crime, but I do need help tracking sex offenders.’”

With the seed planted, Cormaci brought the idea to Luzynski and his company.

“Back in Covington, I put this idea out there, and soon got called into the principal’s office: (They said,) ‘You want to do what?’ Two to three years later, Lou retired and suggested I retire, too, and we start our own company with my idea. That's how we got started," he said.

The company has 40 employees at its Covington headquarters, he added.

Read the full article on The New Orleans Advocate.

Read the full article at Police Chief magazine from their January 2019 issue.

OffenderWatch Offers Tips on Reading and Understanding Sex Offender Registries Before Going Trick-or-Treating

COVINGTON, La. (Oct. 8, 2018) – Do you know whose door you’re knocking on while trick-or-treating? Every home may not be safe: There are more than 900,000 registered sex offenders in the United States[1], many convicted of crimes against minors. Before trick-or-treating this season, sheriff’s offices and police departments advise parents to check their local sex offender registry. However, many parents may not know where to look or what information is most important on the registries. OffenderWatch, the nation’s leader in sex offender registry management, shares its tips on reading and understanding sex offender registries. OffenderWatch partners with law enforcement nationwide to provide technical solutions and a network for managing sex offender registries. With more than 3,000 law enforcement agencies using OffenderWatch, Americans conduct about 1.3 million searches on its sex offender registries per week.“ Knowledge is power. We want parents to not only have the information families need to have a safe Halloween, but to also understand that information,” said Mike Cormaci, president and co-founder of OffenderWatch. “We’ve partnered with law enforcement across the country for more than 20 years, helping to improve the sex offender registry and making it easier for both law enforcement and the public to use.”

Tips for Finding and Understanding Your Sex Offender Registry

1. Use a sex offender registry published by law enforcement. Not all registries are created equal: Many third-party websites publish outdated sex offender data, claiming it is accurate. Parents and guardians should only trust data provided through local law enforcement. To find your registry, search the website of your county’s sheriff’s office or police department, or visit https://smart.gov/sorna-map.htm and click on your state.
2. Use the map/geographical feature to find offenders in your area. While on your county or city’s sex offender registry, input your home address or the address where you’ll be trick-or-treating to view a map of offenders in that area. Print out the map with addresses to take with you.
3. Understand the difference between offender risk level and tiers in your state. Every state identifies sex offenders differently, segmenting offenses with risk levels and tiers. Visit your state police website to find a list of offenses, risk levels and descriptions.
4. Talk to your children. If sex offenders live in your neighborhood, point out their house to your children and explain the offender has a criminal record. Tell your children to let you know if the sex offender tries to talk to them or lure them inside.

[1] National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, http://www.missingkids.com/content/dam/ncmec/en_us/SOR%20Map%20with%20Explanation.pdf

By Port City Daily staff The database is updated in real time based on information from thousands of law enforcement agencies and is available at no cost, 24-7. Read the full article on Port City Daily.

BRUNSWICK COUNTY — A quick search using the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office “Offender Watch” registry shows 41 sex offenders within 5 miles of Leland’s town hall, 15 within 5 miles of Southport’s downtown, and dozens more across the county.

The new online registry, launched by Brunswick County Sheriff John W. Ingram, allows residents to search for registered sex offenders located inside a “user-defined radius” from any Brunswick County address; users can adjust the radius from a quarter-mile to five miles.

“Offender Watch is a great tool in keeping residents informed of anyone moving into their communities who might be a potential threat to their families. I hope this tool will offer citizens peace of mind in knowing that information is easily accessible,” Ingram said.

The registry also allows residents to sign up for updates, “alerting them if an offender or predator should register an address within their specified radius of their address,” according to Sheriff’s Office Spokesperson Emily Flax.

Residents can sign up for updates for as many addresses as they like, at no cost, Flax said.
The Offender Watch data is updated in real time as offender data is received by the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office, according to Flax. The online registry links the county to over 5,000 law enforcement agencies.

Nation’s Leading Sex Offender Registry Network Provides Tips with Law Enforcement to Keep Kids SafeAs children head back to the classroom, OffenderWatch, the nation’s leading sex offender registry network, has partnered with local Florida law enforcement offices to share tips for parents on how to talk to their children about warning signs of sex offenders and safety tips.More than a dozen Florida sheriffs’ offices and police departments participate in the OffenderWatch network, which helps law enforcement agencies work from one offender record and share critical information across agencies and state lines. OffenderWatch also partners with law enforcement to send community email and mail notifications to citizens when a registered sex offender moves into their neighborhood.Safety Tips for Talking to Your Child About Sex Offenders• Avoid scary details. Include general information when speaking to children. You know more than your child needs to know. Use language that is honest and age-appropriate (e.g. “There are people who do bad things to children.”).• If your children could possibly have contact with a registered sex offender, you should show your children the sex offender's photo. In a manner that does not incite panic: Instruct your children to avoid contact with the offender, even if the offender's offenses of conviction does not involve an offense against a child. Instruct them to avoid being near the offender's residence or workplace.• Encourage your children to tell you if the sex offender initiates contact with them.• Encourage your children to tell you about any contact from any other person who makes them feel uncomfortable. It is important to teach your children about appropriate and inappropriate contact and to encourage regular discussion about their interactions with other people.• Teach your children: DON'T take rides from strangers; DON'T harass or visit any sex offender's home or yard; DO tell a safe adult if anyone acts inappropriately toward them (e.g. creepy, too friendly, threatening, offering gifts in a secret way, or touching them); DO RUN, SCREAM, and GET AWAY if someone is bothering them; DON'T keep secrets; DON'T assist strangers; DON'T go places alone; DO ask questions and DO talk about any uncomfortable feelings or interactions.• Make it a habit to listen to your children and to believe them.For more safety tips and information, please visit the website below.Access More Safety Tips & Resources Online• To access additional safety tips and parent resources, please visit http://communitynotification.com/counties.php?state=FL and click on your sheriff’s office link.• Once on your sheriff’s office page, click the “Safety Tips” tab at the top of the page.Sign-Up for Sex Offender Community NotificationsSign up to receive community notifications when a registered sex offender moves into your neighborhood or near another address. To register for the free communications, visit:• http://communitynotification.com/counties.php?state=FL• Click on your county’s Sheriff’s Office, and then click on “Register for Email Alerts.”Read the story on the Boca Raton Tribune: http://www.bocaratontribune.com/bocaratonnews/2018/09/sex-offender-safety-tips/

By: Amanda Aguilar, KSNW-TVSEDGWICK COUNTY, Kan. (KSNW) - There are nearly 3,000 active drug, sex and violent offenders in Sedgwick County. Residents can keep an eye on them with the Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office OffenderWatch tool.A resident can enter the address and view offenders that live in the area."You need to know who's living across the street, next door to you," said Sgt. Conrad Jansson. "Looks can be deceiving. Typically, these people aren't monsters or people that they have envisioned in their head. They look like you and I."The tool shows a description of the offender, what the offender was convicted of, what car they drive and where they live.Residents can sign up to receive alerts of when an offender moves into their area. They can also submit tips if an offender may be doing something he or she shouldn't be doing.Sgt. Jansson said they receive resident tips every day about offenders.Sedgwick County manages more offenders than any other county in Kansas.Offenders must go into the offender registration office every three months to verify all their information is correct.There are four deputies in the Offender Registration department that are in charge of all of the county's offenders. Deputies go on "address check" every day to make sure the offender is living and working where they're supposed to, and driving the same car that they registered.According to the sheriff's office, 98-percent of the county's offenders are compliant -- which is higher than the national average of 95-percent. There are 62 offenders that are non-compliant and have warrants.The Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office OffenderWatch tool can be found here. Only two-percent of households are registered for the county's program.WATCH THE VIDEO: https://www.ksn.com/news/local/offenderwatch-tool-shows-where-offenders-live-near-you/1393005371

Maryland Becomes 17th State to Join National OffenderWatch Sex Offender Network

Maryland Sheriffs, Dept. of Corrections to Share Data, Easily Update Sex Offender Records Through New Technology

COVINGTON, La. (Aug. 24, 2018)—Maryland is now the 17th state in the U.S. to join the OffenderWatch sex offender registry network through a statewide contract. Every Maryland sheriff’s office, registering police department, as well as the Maryland Dept. of Corrections and Department of Public Safety, will deploy the OffenderWatch technology to easily share records on sex offenders, communicate with agencies both inside as well as outside of the state, and improve work flow and better allocate resources for proactive offender management and better public safety. With 3,600 law enforcement agencies in 37 states currently adopting the technology, OffenderWatch is the nation’s leading sex offender registration, monitoring and community notification solution.“ Wicomico County has been an OffenderWatch client for several years. My agency saw the need very early to adopt a program that not only allowed our Sex Offender Registry Unit to communicate with our neighboring counties and police departments, but also can communicate in real time with agencies outside of Maryland when potentially dangerous offenders moved into Wicomico County. My citizens deserve the most accurate and timely notifications to protect their families. I am very happy that 6 million people will now have the ability to receive the same type of notifications across Maryland,” said Sheriff Mike Lewis of the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office. With more than 800,000 registered sex offenders in the United States, and nearly 10,000 registered sex offenders in the state of Maryland alone, sheriffs will now be able to better manage registered sex offenders and communicate with other law enforcement agencies. Through the OffenderWatch partnership, online resources are available to educate and inform the public on ways to keep neighborhoods safe. One purpose of the sex offender monitoring and alerting program is to provide Maryland citizens with proactive alerts and real-time updates when an offender registers or moves within a specified radius of their address. The service is available at no cost to the public with confidential and unlimited address registrations—home, school, work, gym, day care, park, or any address of interest.The public can access the free OffenderWatch sex offender registry and sign up for e-notifications at the following link:• http://sheriffalerts.com/counties.php?state=MD“For too long, law enforcement data has been siloed—with agencies not sharing critical, sometimes life-saving, information with one another. With OffenderWatch, we make sharing data and updating offender records seamless and easy, so that our law enforcement members can focus less on paperwork and more on keeping our communities safe,” said Mike Cormaci, president and co-founder of OffenderWatch.

OffenderWatch, the Largest Sex Offender Registry Network in the U.S., Awarded Contract with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police

Louisiana-based company achieves international growth through collaboration

COVINGTON, La. (May 4, 2018) – OffenderWatch, the leading public safety sex offender registry network in the United States, is pleased to announce that it will be working with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) to modernize the Canadian National Sex Offender Registry. This marks the first time that OffenderWatch, headquartered in Covington, La., has worked with a law enforcement agency outside of the U.S.OffenderWatch was awarded the contract to modernize the RCMP’s National Sex Offender Registry, following a Government of Canada procurement process. The contract between the RCMP and OffenderWatch is focused on making technical enhancements to the RCMP’s existing national database, and as such, no protected information will leave RCMP premises.“ OffenderWatch has specialized in the sex offender registry space servicing local, state and federal law enforcement partners for nearly 20 years,” said Mike Cormaci, president and co-founder of OffenderWatch. “The flexibility and innovation of our platform allows for comprehensive implementation of the entire country of Canada with features and adaptability not realized before.” There are numerous benefits to collaborating on a single sex offender record across any jurisdiction and Canada is no exception. With the OffenderWatch technological backbone supporting the new Canadian system, public safety agencies across Canada can configure certain features to bring efficiency in records management and investigations. OffenderWatch currently works with more than 3,500 local, state and federal law enforcement agencies in 36 states in the United States—with statewide implementation in 16 of those states. The OffenderWatch network accounts for more than 60 percent of sex offenders in the U.S. New programs and services are now expanding that population to close to 80 percent domestically. Working with the RCMP, OffenderWatch will build and deploy a national solution that will be unmatched by any other national program, as many of the features are collaboratively designed by the RCMP and OffenderWatch over and above what is currently available in the core system. The purpose of the sex offender monitoring and alerting program is to bring efficiency realized in the United States to law enforcement agencies. “Our capabilities for geocoding, radial-based searches and hosting structure allow for large concurrent access and improve public safety,” Cormaci said. Through this collaboration, in addition to public safety features for federal, provincial and local law enforcement across Canada, the solution will achieve several goals for the RCMP, including:

• Improve the quality of registered sex offender data by enforcing mandatory data fields and increasing data validation
• Increase compliance with current legislation
• Advance work processes by increasing efficiency of workflows and reducing manual processes and paper files

For more information about OffenderWatch, please visit www.WatchSystems.com. About OffenderWatch - There are more than 800,000 registered sex offenders in the United States. Most states have a different system for tracking these offenders, making it difficult for agencies to keep records when the offenders cross state lines. The OffenderWatch Network is the largest sex offender registry system in the U.S., working with more than 3,500 local, state and federal law enforcement agencies in 36 states. Founded in 2000 in Covington, La. under the Watch Systems company, OffenderWatch has expanded to include data on registered sex offenders from sheriffs’ offices, police departments, Attorney Generals’ offices, U.S. Marshal judicial districts, U.S. attorneys, federal and state probation and parole agents, department of corrections, Indian tribes, and more. The network delivers greater efficiency with technology, policy and procedure regarding sex offender monitoring and community notification. OffenderWatch partnered with Canada in spring 2018 to enhance the Canadian National Sex Offender Registry. Learn more at OffenderWatch.com.

OffenderWatch president Mike Cormaci authored an article in the May/June 2018 issue of Sheriff & Deputy magazine about OffenderWatch FOCUS. Learn how OffenderWatch uses big data to help better manage the worst sex offenders. Click the image or link below to read the full article.