Colorado River Indian Tribes Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act Implementation 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 Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking (SMART) to administer sex offender management grants. These grants assist state, local and tribal jurisdictions in developing and/or enhancing sex offender registration and notification programs that support substantial implementation of 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.

The Colorado River Indian Tribes (CRI Tribes) have developed several approaches for enhancing tribal law enforcement's capacity to implement and enforce the CRI Tribes' Sexual Offender Registration Code program in compliance with SORNA. The CRI Tribes will establish a SORNA Enforcement Office and recruit, hire, and provide training for a full-time SORNA Enforcement Officer. The CRI Tribes will also acquire specialized equipment, software, uniforms, and gear to replace obsolete or nonexistent equipment. The SORNA Enforcement Officer will establish DNA collection and storage procedures with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This officer will also input and access data on the NCIS. The CRI Tribes will establish a standard for sharing information about sex offenders between jurisdictions so that at least three of the four Memoranda of Understanding will be in place within nine months of the grant award. The CRI Tribes will print and distribute 1,000 flyers and pamphlets that provide information on the Tribes' SORNA program to all communities on the reservation. Finally, the CRI Tribes plan to establish a quarterly review process to assess the progress of the CRI Tribes' implementation of these and all SORNA requirements.

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