State law requires persons convicted of or placed on
deferred community supervision for certain offenses to register as sex
offenders. Offenders who commit "sexually violent" offenses
(most contact offenses) must register for the remainder of their lives,
even after completing community supervision or parole. Others (some non-contact
offenses) may quit registering ten years after completion of their supervision
terms, while some offenders in this classification register for the terms
of their supervision only.
Collin County CSCD works closely with area law enforcement agencies and
Texas DPS to ensure that registration information is accurate and up-to-date
for all offenders. Regular field contacts are also used to verify the
information contained in the registry.
NOTE: Offenders placed on DEFERRED SUPERVISION for sexually violent offenses
must register for the remainder of their lives, regardless of whether
or not they successfully complete their terms of supervision. (See FAQ
for explanation of deferred supervision.)
Sex offenders register with local law enforcement agencies, police departments
or sheriff's offices where they live. Information obtained by these agencies
includes basic descriptive characteristics, shoe size, blood type, vehicle
information, employment information and offense. Local law enforcement
agencies keep this information on file and send copies of it to the Texas
Department of Public Safety (DPS) in Austin. DPS oversees and coordinates
registration for the state.
Registrants must notify local law enforcement agencies
PRIOR to changing their residences. If registrants move to other
jurisdictions, they must register with local law enforcement agencies
within seven days of their relocation. Depending on their criminal histories,
they also must report to law enforcement agencies every year or every
90 days to update their registry information.
Failure to comply with sex offender registration laws is a felony offense.
For the express purpose of giving citizens a means of
identifying sex offenders and protecting themselves against victimization,
the Legislature has recently enacted law changes that give the public
much more access to sex offender registration information. Citizens may
access the DPS sex offender registration files free of charge through
the Texas DPS
website. As with any website, citizens should direct questions regarding
information found on this website directly to the Texas Department of
Public Safety.
You may also visit www.familywatchdog.us
for nationwide registered sex offender information.
