Two decades of advancing collaboration, information sharing, and public safety.

Today marks the 20th anniversary of the Adam Walsh Act.

When the Act was signed into law in 2006, OffenderWatch^® had already been working alongside law enforcement agencies for several years. We welcomed the legislation as an important step toward creating more consistent national standards for sex offender registration and community notification. While every state now maintains a sex offender registry, differences still exist in registration requirements, notification practices, and the ability to share information across jurisdictions. Even today, many state systems cannot seamlessly exchange offender information. When information doesn't move, offenders can move unnoticed.

As we've often said:

"If you don't know the offender is coming, how can you expect them to register?"

For the past 27 years, OffenderWatch has focused on helping solve that challenge by connecting local, county, state, and federal partners through a collaborative network that enables agencies to share critical information quickly, accurately, and efficiently.

Today, more than 4,000 agencies and 15,000 users work together through the OffenderWatch network, completing more than 2,800 offender relocation tasks each week, or 145,600 every year. What once required weeks of phone calls, paperwork, and manual coordination can now be completed in under a minute. The result is faster collaboration, more complete information sharing, and significant time savings for our law enforcement partners.

One of the most significant outcomes of the Adam Walsh Act has been expanding public access to sex offender information. OffenderWatch supports agencies with community notification tools that help residents stay informed about registered offenders living in or moving into their communities. Since its enactment, millions of residents have subscribed at no cost to receive email notifications when offenders move within a selected radius, resulting in more than 88 million email alerts. In addition, agencies using OffenderWatch have mailed more than 60 million community notifications through the U.S. Postal Service, helping keep communities informed in accordance with state and local requirements.

Another important area we support is the FBI's National Sex Offender Registry (NSOR). Today, OffenderWatch supports direct NCIC synchronization for 13 statewide agencies, representing more than 200,000 active NSOR records, with additional deployments planned over the next year. Our automated synchronization service generates and submits more than 2.1 million NCIC transactions annually while maintaining an initial acceptance rate exceeding 99%. This automation helps ensure the national registry remains accurate, complete, and current while reducing manual effort for agencies across the country.

The Adam Walsh Act did not begin the movement toward community notification. It strengthened a mission that began with Megan Kanka, whose tragic death forever changed the conversation around protecting children and informing communities. Behind every registry, every notification, and every offender relocation is a shared commitment to helping prevent future victims. Every day, local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies dedicate significant time and resources to ensuring accurate, timely information reaches the people who need it most. Success isn't measured solely by registrations completed, notifications delivered, or records shared. Its true impact is reflected in the tragedies that never happen because agencies had the right information at the right time.

We're grateful to the SMART Office and to the thousands of agencies that continue working together to strengthen public safety through collaboration and information sharing. Twenty years later, we remain committed to supporting that mission by helping agencies connect, communicate, and share information more efficiently because safer communities begin with informed communities.

Together, we can prevent the unthinkable.

For a quick overview of the Adam Walsh Act's impact over the past 20 years, download our one-page fact sheet highlighting the key milestones and accomplishments.