Sex Offender Registry for the Northern Mariana Islands under the state Department of Public Safety.

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 Department of Public Safety in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands is working to refine regulations, policies, and procedures to ensure SORNA compliance and effectiveness. To help with this, the department plans to: (1) acquire, renovate, equip, and furnish a larger office space within the Department to house the SORNA program which will include an interview room and a secure room for the database system and files; (2) provide access and continue processing information required to register sex offenders and to maintain the sex offender registry by setting up a LiveScan machine to take fingerprints and palm prints, and a camera to take pictures of sex offenders for the registry database; (3) update and expand the Sex Offender Website; and (4) upgrade the computer system, software and peripherals.

ca/ncf