Sex Offender Registry: what it is, who can consult it and what it shows

It is a public registry with a concrete preventive function: so communities and institutions working with children can know who has been convicted of the offenses the law lists. It is created and maintained in the Criminal Justice Information System, and it records Type I, Type II and Type III sex offenders; persons convicted of similar offenses in a federal, state, recognized tribal, foreign or military court who move to Puerto Rico to live, work or study; convicted persons on parole, conditional release, probation or alternative methods; and those in diversion or treatment programs for those offenses — with the caveat that if the court orders dismissal after conditions are met, the System removes that entry. The Registry’s information is also transmitted electronically to the FBI’s National Sex Offender Registry.

To consult it there are no requirements: the law orders the Registry be available to the public on an internet portal. In addition, the information is supplied to law enforcement and state or federal government agencies in the performance of their functions — including Housing and Family — and to any person, company or organization requesting it in writing, as well as to private persons and institutions for whom this information matters given the nature of their activities: the law expressly mentions the victim and their relatives, schools, child care institutions and establishments, recreational facilities, institutions for abused children and women, and the jurisdictions where the offender resides, works or studies.

• For public online consultation: none. The law orders the Registry’s records to remain available to the public.Verified against the official source
• For a person, company or organization to receive the information directly from the System: requesting it in writing.Verified against the official source

• For the search: whatever data you have on the person — name, surnames, alias — or the area: zip code or town. The law provides the portal allow searching by those fields, among others.
• To request correction of erroneous information: the law requires the page to include the instructions for requesting it.

1. 1

   Step 1: Search the Registry portal

   The law orders the System to maintain an internet portal where an interested person can obtain information on each sex offender by searching names, surnames, aliases, updated photo, physical description, the offense for which they are listed, zip code, town or any other search field provided. The design must include the search capabilities required to participate in the Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Website. Puerto Rico’s public portal did not respond from the environment where we verified this guide, so confirm the current address with the Department of Justice or the Police before trusting a third-party link.

2. 2

   Step 2: If you are an institution, request it in writing

   The law contemplates the information being provided to any person, company or organization requesting it in writing, and to private institutions for whom it matters given the nature of their activities — schools, child care establishments, recreational facilities, shelters. It is also used for employment background checks under the National Child Protection Act. If you run one of those entities, the written request is your formal route.

3. 3

   Step 3: Know what you will not find, and why

   The law lists what is not disclosed to the public: the victim’s identity; the offender’s Social Security number; any reference to arrests that did not result in conviction; the passport or immigration document number; and the website, email and usernames they use on social media. If a third-party site offers you that data, it does not come from the official Registry.

4. 4

   Step 4: Use it to prevent, not to take justice

   The law itself orders the page to warn that the information supplied may not be used illegally to harm, harass or commit crimes against any individual named in the Registry who resides, works or studies at the registered address, and that such action may carry civil or criminal penalties. The Registry exists so you can protect your family and community; using it to harass turns the person consulting into the person answering.

5. 5

   Step 5: If the information is wrong, request correction

   The law requires the internet page to include the instructions for requesting correction of erroneous information. It applies whether you are the registered person or you spot wrong data affecting someone else. And if what you see is a concrete danger, that is not a Registry matter: call 9-1-1 or file the corresponding complaint.

Public consultation happens on the Registry’s internet portal the law requires be maintained; the Criminal Justice Information System operates under the Department of Justice (justicia.pr.gov, (787) 721-2900), and the information provided to the public comes from the Puerto Rico Police. Written requests from organizations and institutions go to the System. Confirm the portal’s current address with Justice or the Police.

• Treating absence from the Registry as a good-conduct certificate: it only captures convictions for the offenses the law lists.
• Looking for arrests: the law expressly prohibits publishing references to arrests that did not result in conviction.
• Trusting third-party sites showing emails, social media or document numbers: that data is not disclosed from the official Registry.
• Using the information to harass or threaten: the law itself warns it may carry civil or criminal penalties.
• Substituting this consultation for the background check process to work with minors, which has its own law and its own guide.
• Reporting an immediate danger to the Registry instead of calling 9-1-1 or the child abuse hotline.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Departamento de Justicia de Puerto Rico

  Justicia

  bvirtualogp.pr.gov

• Department of Justice, where the Criminal Justice Information System operates

  Justicia

  www.justicia.pr.gov