Arizona Revised Statutes 13-3825
In 1995, the Arizona Legislature enacted a statute to enable the
community to be notified of the presence of certain convicted sex offenders upon their
release from prison or placement on probation. The statute's effective date was delayed
until June 1, 1996, to allow a Community Notification Guidelines Committee to be empaneled
and make recommendations to the Legislature for the statute's implementation. The
Community Notification Guidelines Committee includes statewide representatives from
Arizona law enforcement agencies, the Legislature, corrections, probation, county
attorney's offices, the Attorney General's office, and mental health professionals.
The Community Notification Guidelines Committee developed a system
which permitted local law enforcement agencies to provide notification in a progressive
manner, proportionately increasing the scope and nature of information provided to the
public, depending on the risk posed to the community by the offender. The instrument is
modeled after a similar assessment tool which was developed by the State of Minnesota for
the same purpose and currently consists of 19 criminogenic elements and specific offense
behavior questions. The notification system consists of three risk levels.
Level I is considered lower risk; Level 2 intermediate risk; and
Level 3 high risk.
If an offender is determined to be a Level 1 offender, law
enforcement may inform people residing in the offender's household that the offender was
convicted of a sex offense, and the circumstances of that offense.
Level 2 notifications involve the police notifying the immediate
household and neighbors, schools, community groups, and prospective employers of the
offender's presence. This may include a flyer with a photograph of the offender, and the
general area where the offender resides.
Level 3 notifications require that a mandatory flyer be distributed
by the police in the neighborhood, to area schools, appropriate community groups, and to
prospective employers. A press release is also provided to the media.
The extent of community notification for any sex offender under the
statute is ultimately determined by local law enforcement agencies and is directly related
to the risk the offender poses to the community.
In the two-year period from June
1, 1996, through June 1, 1998, the Arizona Department of Corrections (ADC) released 950
convicted sex offenders from prison. Of the 950, only 650 were subject to the community
notification statute. Three hundred of the 950 were prior sex offenders not currently
serving sentences for sexual offenses. They were therefore excluded from community
notification requirements, but were required to register with the local sheriff and keep
the sheriff informed of their current address.
Of the 650 sex offenders to whom the community notification statute
applied, notification levels were distributed as follows:
Level 1 66 offenders (10.2%)
Level 2 456 offenders (70.2%)
Level 3 128 offenders (19.6%)
The Arizona instrument was recently validated through statistical
analysis completed by Dr. Daryl Fischer, Research Unit Manager, and will continue to be
refined as appropriate. ADC is currently working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI) to determine if data can be accessed for the completion of the second phase of
research. Further study will be undertaken if data is available to determine if any
offenders subject to community notification in Arizona have reoffended in other states.
The Department is pleased to be a vital team player with other state and
local criminal justice agencies in operationalizing this very important law aimed at
informing the public and protecting our community.
Updated on August 05, 1999
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