Sex offenders register to become fully operational soon

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Attorney General, Steadroy Benjamin (File photo)
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By Latrishka Thomas

[email protected]

Despite the Sex Offenders Register Bill (2022) being passed a few months ago, the register is not yet ‘up and running’.

Attorney General Steadroy Benjamin told Observer that preparation was halted due to the January 18 election and other events held over the last few months.

But now “the drafters and the advisors to the ministry are working to get their mechanics together” and “very shortly we shall be getting it set up”.

The Bill, which was passed in November 2022, aims to reduce incidents of sexual reoffending through the monitoring of convicted sex offenders, and the sharing of sex offender information with participating jurisdictions within the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States.

The Bill states that “a person may apply to the Commissioner of Police for confirmation of whether a named individual is a registered sex offender”.

It also states that while any member of the public can apply to obtain confirmation of a registered sex offender, that person could be fined $10,000 or be imprisoned for three years if he/she “by false pretences, obtains from the Commissioner of Police information on any registered sex offender; misuses information to which he or she was granted access regarding a registered sex offender [or] with intent, maliciously disseminates information obtained from the sexual offenders register”.

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