Pueblo Sex Offender Registry Program

The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 (AWA) (Pub. L. 109-248, 42 U.S.C. § 16901, et seq) authorizes the Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking (SMART) Office to administer sex offender management grants. These grants assist state, local and tribal jurisdictions in implementing and/or enhancing sex offender registration and notification programs that support compliance with Title I of the AWA, known as the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA). SORNA was enacted to protect the public from convicted sex offenders and offenders against children by establishing a comprehensive national system for the registration of those offenders.

This grant will support the establishment of the New Mexico Pueblo Sex Offender Registry Program which is a collaborative program between the Pueblos of Acoma, Isleta and Zuni, the American Indian Development Associates and Laguna Industries, Inc. The following objectives have been established for this project: 1) increase tribal capacity to manage and operate tribal registries by assessing and enhancing existing public policies, such as laws, regulations and guidelines related to sex offender notification, registration, and tracking; 2) increase multi-jurisdictional collaboration to coordinate sex offender notification, registration, and tracking through planning meetings with tribal, county state and federal agencies; 3) increase tribal capacity and capability to manage sex offender data by upgrading, updating or acquiring new equipment and system interfaces and accompanying software; 4) increase tribal communities' knowledge of the sex offender registration process by conducting informational sessions in each participating Pueblo's community and through existing tribal consortiums; and 5) increase tribal capability to operate, manage and sustain the tribal sex offender registry system through provision of local, regional or national training events. This project will leverage resources from the New Mexico Tribal Crime Data Project (TCDP) as well as utilize the Justice Information Exchange Model tool to support implementation of this multijurisdictional effort.

ca/ncf