Working in conjunction with the United States Marshals Service, the Pearl River County Sheriff’s Department recently conducted residency checkups on more than 100 registered sex offenders.
Pearl River County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Shane Tucker said the checks were conducted to ensure all of the convicted sexual offenders in the county are abiding by the laws that require them to keep their address up to date with local law enforcement agencies.
Of the 152 registered offenders in this county, the operations brought officers to 140 homes in one day, Tucker said. The remaining homes will be visited by investigators sometime this week.
As a result of the operation, Tucker expects as many as 14 warrants to be issued for non-compliance. He said there were some instances where the person was either not home, had given a fictitious address, was in jail or had passed away.
Tucker said when a convicted sex offender decides to move to a new address, they have 10 days to notify law enforcement of that change.
While checks are conducted regularly, Tucker said this is the first time the U.S. Marshals Service helped the department conduct a check of so many homes all in one day.
The operation involved nine to 10 teams of law enforcement officers ensuring each offender is in compliance.
If a registered sex offender is found to not be in compliance, a felony warrant is issued for the charge of failure to register as a sex offender.
In addition to regular checks, law enforcement agencies also take community tips when residents notice a registered sex offender has moved.