Current through Chapter 61 of the 2024 Legislative Session and 2024 Executive Orders 125, 133 through 135
Section 18.65.087 - Central registry of sex offenders(a) The Department of Public Safety shall maintain a central registry of sex offenders and child kidnappers and shall adopt regulations necessary to carry out the purposes of this section and AS 12.63. A post of the Alaska state troopers or a municipal police department that receives registration or change of address information under AS 12.63.010 shall forward the information within five working days after receipt to the central registry of sex offenders and child kidnappers. Unless the sex offender or child kidnapper provides proof satisfactory to the department that the sex offender or child kidnapper is not physically present in the state or that the time limits described in AS 12.63.010 have passed, the Department of Public Safety may enter and maintain in the registry information described in AS 12.63.010 about a sex offender or child kidnapper that the department obtains from(1) the sex offender or child kidnapper under AS 12.63;(2) a post of the Alaska state troopers or a municipal police department under this subsection;(3) a court judgment under AS 12.55.148, AS 26.05.890(g), 26.05.893(d), 26.05.900(d), or 26.05.935(d);(4) the Department of Corrections under AS 33.30.012 or 33.30.035;(5) the Federal Bureau of Investigation or another sex offender registration agency outside this state if the information indicates that a sex offender or child kidnapper is believed to be residing or planning to reside in the state or cannot be located;(6) a criminal justice agency in the state or another jurisdiction;(7) the department's central repository under AS 12.62; information entered in the registry from the repository is not subject to the requirements of AS 12.62.160(c)(3) or (4);(8) the Department of Military and Veterans' Affairs; or(9) another reliable source as defined in regulations adopted by the department.(b) Information about a sex offender or child kidnapper that is contained in the central registry, including sets of fingerprints, is confidential and not subject to public disclosure except as to the sex offender's or child kidnapper's name, aliases, address, photograph, physical description, description of motor vehicles, license numbers of motor vehicles, and vehicle identification numbers of motor vehicles, place of employment, date of birth, crime for which convicted, date of conviction, place and court of conviction, length and conditions of sentence, and a statement as to whether the offender or kidnapper is in compliance with requirements of AS 12.63 or cannot be located.(c) Notwithstanding (b) of this section, if a sex offender has been convicted in this state or another jurisdiction of a sex offense identified as "incest," that offense may be disclosed under (b) of this section only as a "felony sexual abuse of a minor" conviction.(d) The Department of Public Safety (1) shall adopt regulations to (A) allow a sex offender or child kidnapper to review sex offender or child kidnapper registration information that refers to that sex offender or child kidnapper, and if the sex offender or child kidnapper believes the information is inaccurate or incomplete, to request the department to correct the information; if the department finds the information is inaccurate or incomplete, the department shall correct or supplement the information;(B) ensure the appropriate circulation to law enforcement agencies of information contained in the central registry;(C) ensure the anonymity of members of the public who request information under this section;(2) shall provide to the Department of Corrections and municipal police departments the forms and directions necessary to allow sex offenders and child kidnappers to comply with AS 12.63.010;(3) may adopt regulations to establish fees to be charged for registration under AS 12.63.010 and for information requests; the fee for registration shall be based upon the actual costs of performing the registration and maintaining the central registry but may not be set at a level whereby registration is discouraged; the fee for an information request may not be greater than $10;(4) shall remove from the central registry of sex offenders and child kidnappers under this section information about a sex offender or child kidnapper required to register under AS 12.63.020(a)(1)(B) at the end of the sex offender's or child kidnapper's duty to register if the offender or kidnapper has not been convicted of another sex offense or child kidnapping and the offender or kidnapper has supplied proof of unconditional discharge acceptable to the department; in this paragraph, "sex offense" and "child kidnapping" have the meanings given in AS 12.63.100.(e) The name, address, and other identifying information of a member of the public who makes an information request under this section is not a public record under AS 40.25.100 - 40.25.295.(f) When a sex offender or child kidnapper registers under AS 12.63, the Department of Public Safety shall make reasonable attempts to verify that the sex offender or child kidnapper is residing at the registered address. Reasonable attempts at verifying an address include sending certified mail, return receipt requested, to the offender or kidnapper at the registered address. The department shall make reasonable efforts to locate an offender or kidnapper who cannot be located at the registered address.(g) The department, at least quarterly, shall compile a list of those persons with a duty to register under AS 12.63.010 who have failed to register, whose addresses cannot be verified under (f) of this section, or who otherwise cannot be located. The department shall post this list on the Internet and request the public's assistance in locating these persons.(h) The Department of Public Safety shall provide on the Internet website that the department maintains for the central registry of sex offenders and child kidnappers information as to how members of the public using the website may access or compile the information relating to sex offenders or child kidnappers for a particular geographic area on a map. The information may direct members to mapping programs available on the Internet and to Internet websites where information contained in the registry has already been converted to a map or geographic format.(i) Notwithstanding (b) of this section, the department may provide a method for, or may participate in a federal program that allows, the public to submit an electronic or messaging address or Internet identifier and receive a confirmation of whether the address or identifier has been registered by a registered sex offender or child kidnapper.Amended by SLA 2018, ch. 85,sec. 6, eff. 1/1/2019.