The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office is launching Offender Watch, an electronic database for citizen notification and awareness of sexual predators and offenders in their area.
 
To use the Offender Watch program, citizens can go to www.coj.net/jso and click on either the Offender Watch "hot button" in the top right hand corner of the page (blue banner), or use the Offender Watch link, located in the navigation menu on the left side of the page, or go to http://www.watchsystems.com/fl/jacksonville/ .

Additional Information: Offender Watch provides citizens with an opportunity to be notified by the JSO, electronically, of sexual predators and offenders in their area. Residents can register for automatic updates to be emailed directly to them. Citizens can also register multiple addresses in the email notification service; a home address, that of a babysitter, a school, a church and other locations, such as that of a grandparent - anywhere their children frequent. The service also allows for the tracking of known offenders and predators by name.

"Our Career Criminal Unit has done an outstanding job of developing this Offender Watch program.  In addition to meeting with detective's face-to-face monthly for convicted predators, and annually for offenders, our detectives spend a lot of time on other administrative work, monitoring and tracking this ever growing population. Our Unit has identified an outstanding software program that provides a valuable public service and helps detectives with the management of predators and offenders in Duval County." said Sheriff John H. Rutherford.

Offender Watch ensures that the proper information and notification of sex offenders and predators in the area is disseminated to citizens enrolled in the program. "When a sexual predator moves to a new address, JSO must notify all the schools and daycares within a one mile radius of the residence. Homes within 1000 feet of the offender's residence receive flyers through the mail, providing the predator's address and photograph," according to Lt. Mike Williams, the head of the Career Criminal Unit. "Offender Watch will automatically provide these updates to residents and others who need to know, and now, if they want to get this information via email, they can." he added.

Offender Watch is a web based program provided by Watch Systems LLC. Watch Systems is a fully integrated, nationwide supplier of a sex offender management software solution. Watch Systems is a privately held software development firm based in the New Orleans, LA area who specializes in sex offender registration and community notification software and services at a state and local level.  For further information on Watch Systems, please visit their web site, http://www.watchsystems.com/ .

The mission of the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office is to protect the lives and property of the citizens of this community, to preserve the peace and to prevent crime and disorder while constantly guarding personal liberties as prescribed by law.