Ohio Officials Organize Surprise Compliance Checks for Sex Offenders
By Adam Decker, Marketing –
A blitz of compliance visits to registered sex offenders leads to multiple arrests in Ohio.
Athens County Prosecutor’s Office has just released news of a secret mission ― Operation Pinpoint. Its purpose was to carry compliance checks on 76 registered sex offenders in Athens County in one day in August.
This secret mission was specifically planned to pinpoint any registered sex offenders in Athens County who had failed to comply with the terms of the Adam Walsh Act. The goal was to find and arrest any fugitives and non-compliant sex offenders.
Stage One: Assemble the Team
The special task force was made up of enforcement officers, county officials and personnel from a number of agencies, such as The Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, the United States Marshal Service, the Athens Country Adult Parole Authority, and the Athens County Sherriff’s Office.
Stage Two: Preparation
Ten days before Operation Pinpoint, personnel from the Athens County Sherriff’s Office closely reviewed all the case files of every registered sex offender. Additional information was gathered at this stage of the investigation, helping make arrests on the day.
Stage Three: Implement the Mission
When residence checks were carried out on the day of Operation Pinpoint, this resulted in the arrest of four registered sex offenders who had failed to report a permanent change of address.
Another person on the registry had several outstanding charges against him. He was arrested during Operation Pinpoint for violating the terms of probation and was served with two additional warrants. The Athens County Prosecutor’s Office has received official documents relating to additional charges and seeking felony indictments. The evidence will be presented to a grand jury in Athens County.
Stage Four: Review
Athens County Interim Sheriff Rodney Smith has praised the way everyone involved came together to work as a team. He reportedly said that Operation Pinpoint has helped to establish a working relationship between federal supervision agencies, enforcement agencies and the county, state and city authorities.
Operation Pinpoint revealed that 92% of sex offenders under supervision by Athens County are in compliance. The whole operation has been declared a success in helping to reduce crime and improve public safety.
Speaking on behalf of the Athens County Sherriff’s Office, Lt. Aaron Maynard welcomed the outcome of Operation Pinpoint, but stressed that there is still more work that needs to be done.
When working with convicted sex offenders, it is critical to have every tool to ensure compliance to their guidelines. One tool that could potentially be incredibly useful is the new deception technology EyeDetect. Since it is automated through a computer, it is unbiased, and it takes very little time to train administrators. It can be implemented on a large scale, helping law enforcement screen a high volume of people and make large strides towards protecting the community.
