Registry of domestic violence convictions

This is a public registry of persons convicted of domestic violence, attached to the Department of Justice and fed by the courts, the Police and Corrections. The Act mandates two ways of consulting it, and both are worth knowing: the System must publish it online, and additionally any person may request in writing the information about someone registered, which in that case is provided to them by the Police Bureau. The Act also protects the victim within the registry itself: it prohibits publishing any information identifying them. This is not the same as the sex offender registry, which is a different one with its own terms, although for certain offences this Act refers across to it.

Any person may consult the Registry: Article 6 says the information shall be accessible “to anyone who so requests it in writing,” without requiring you to be the victim, a relative or a party to the case, and it further orders publication online. On the side of who enters the Registry: persons convicted of the offences of Act 54 of 1989 and of Penal Code and special penal law violations committed in the same domestic violence event, as determined by the prosecutor’s investigation and charging. Someone who took part in a diversion programme enters if later convicted; and convictions for femicide, attempted femicide and spousal sexual assault are excluded from the diversion programme and enter the Registry directly.

• To consult by the written route, file the request in writing; the information is provided by the Police Bureau of Puerto Rico (Article 6).Verified against the official source

Information pending verification.

1. 1

   Step 1: The two ways to consult it

   Article 6 mandates both. First: “The System shall create the infrastructure and programming necessary to make the Registry’s information publicly available via the Internet.” Second, and it is the one many people do not know: “the information the System holds about a registered person, as provided in this Act, shall be accessible to anyone who so requests it in writing. In these cases, the information registered in the System shall be provided by the Police Bureau of Puerto Rico.” You need not be the victim or a party to the case. The Act does not publish the portal address and we do not guess government addresses.

2. 2

   Step 2: What may not appear published

   That same Article 6 sets two express limits. The Registry may not publish information on the social security number, driver’s licence or telephone number; nor information identifying the victim or victims of the offences for which the convict entered the Registry. That second limit is direct protection for whoever reported: the publicity falls on the convict, not on them.

3. 3

   Step 3: Which convictions enter

   Not only Act 54 offences. Article 2 also includes Penal Code and special penal law violations committed in the same transaction or event, where the investigating prosecutor determined it was a domestic violence event. The Act lists, without limitation: abuse, aggravated abuse, abuse by threat, abuse by restriction of liberty, spousal sexual assault, femicide, attempted femicide, mutilation, arson, aggravated arson, burglary, weapons law violations, threatening or intimidating witnesses, perjury, destruction of evidence, use of violence or intimidation against public authority and resisting or obstructing public authority, “among others, according to the particular facts proven in Court.”

4. 4

   Step 4: Diversion, and the exception that does not allow it

   Article 2 closes with a rule worth being clear about. Someone who took part in a diversion programme enters the Registry if subsequently convicted of Act 54 violations. But convictions for femicide, attempted femicide or spousal sexual assault “shall be excluded from that diversion programme and shall enter the Registry directly.” That is, for those three offences no diversion avoids registration.

5. 5

   Step 5: What the registered person must do

   Article 4 is long and worth reading because it explains what information is being collected. The registered person must notify the Police Comandancia of their jurisdiction, at least ten days before moving, of any change in their temporary or permanent address, their name including pseudonym or alias, social security number, telephones, date of birth, e-mail, internet address, name or designation used on social media, address of each residence, places lived in the last ten years, professional licence and its number, name, address and telephone of current or future employment and of employers of the last ten years, institutions where they studied, study or will study, and a description of any vehicle they own or drive — including motorcycles, boats or light aircraft — with its plate. If they have no home or fixed address, they must give the name, description or location of the place where they live or habitually sleep, including a park, a street or a shelter. And the court must warn them of the annual duty to update their information even if nothing has changed.

6. 6

   Step 6: The terms running behind the scenes

   Three, and they help you know when someone should appear. The court, at sentencing, orders notice to the System at Justice and to the Office of the Women’s Advocate sending a copy of the sentence with the convict’s data; all information collected must be registered within five business days of the court’s order. Corrections and Rehabilitation must notify the Justice official thirty days before the person is released, whether for completing the sentence, for probation, parole or entering a diversion, treatment or rehabilitation programme. And the registered person gives ten days’ notice of any move.

7. 7

   Step 7: How long they stay in the Registry

   Article 5 sets seven years from completing the imposed sentence, provided that does not conflict with other provisions imposing a longer term in other registries. There is an important cross-reference: in cases of conviction under Articles 3.2(g) and 3.5 of Act 54, the information remains for the term set by Article 5 of Act 266-2004, which is the one creating the registry of persons convicted of sexual offences and child abuse. Before the minimum, the information is removed only if the conviction is reversed by a court or the convict receives a full executive pardon. Once the term is met, the registered person may petition removal, and the Act requires the Registry itself to include information on how removal is petitioned and under what circumstances.

8. 8

   Step 8: If the person was convicted elsewhere

   Article 3(f) covers it: persons convicted of domestic violence offences in other states, territories or jurisdictions, or in federally recognised Indian tribes, are evaluated before entering Puerto Rico by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation through its Probation Office. Once the information is sent to the System, it becomes immediately available through computer terminals configured on the System’s network for use by the Police Comandancia of the jurisdiction where the person will reside.

The Registry is attached to the Department of Justice and is fed through the Criminal Justice Information System. A written consultation is answered by the Police Bureau of Puerto Rico, under Article 6, and the registered person’s move notifications go to the Police Comandancia of their jurisdiction. The Act further orders publication online, but does not publish the portal address.

• Believing you must be the victim to consult it: Article 6 says it shall be accessible to anyone who requests it in writing.
• Confusing it with the sex offender registry: they are different registries, although for Articles 3.2(g) and 3.5 of Act 54 this Act refers to that one’s term.
• Thinking only Act 54 offences enter: Penal Code offences committed in the same domestic violence event also enter.
• Assuming a diversion programme always avoids registration: femicide, its attempt and spousal sexual assault are excluded from diversion and enter directly.
• Believing the victim’s data appears: the Act expressly prohibits publishing information identifying them.
• Expecting to find the convict’s telephone or driver’s licence: the Act prohibits publishing those and the social security number.
• Taking it for granted the person leaves the Registry on completing the sentence: it is seven years from completing it, and removal is petitioned.
• Thinking the update applies only if something changed: the Act imposes an annual update even if the information has not changed.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Departamento de Justicia de Puerto Rico

  Justicia

  bvirtualogp.pr.gov