(Sex offenders registry links at the bottom of this post)
http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2007/08/02/news/state/doc46b10f4eb57c45\
68139258.txt
Tribes have 2 years to comply with Adam Walsh sex-offender list
By Carson Walker, The Associated Press
SIOUX FALLS -- American Indian tribes have two years to start tracking sex
offenders themselves or take part in their state's registration system after an
attempt to delay a requirement of the Adam Walsh Act failed.


Congress passed the act one year ago to protect children from predators by
establishing a national Internet database designed to let law enforcement and
communities know where convicted sex offenders live and work.

There are an estimated 500,000 sex offenders in the United States, and as many
as 100,000 are not registered.

Indian tribes had until Friday to tell the Department of Justice if they plan to
establish their own tracking system or allow states to do it. Tribes that didn't
indicate their plans will default to state jurisdiction.

An effort in Congress to delay that notification date by one year -- to give
tribes more time to decide -- failed, so tribes now have until July 27, 2009, to
have their own system in place or an agreement with states.

Eric Antoine, in-house attorney for the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, said the tribal
council felt it wasn't consulted before the law passed and voted to handle its
own sex-offender registry.

"It's a question of tribal sovereignty for the tribal council," he said.

The tribe hopes that some federal funding will be available to help cover the
cost, Antoine said.

Kim Lowry, acting director of the Office of Communications in the Office of
Justice Programs in Washington, said the Department of Justice has communicated
through e-mails, meetings and mailings to more than 560 tribes.

Though tribes had until Friday to indicate their intentions, those that
indicated they want to comply with the law's requirements on their own can still
let the state handle it if they choose, she said. The tribes are not handing
over sovereignty, Lowry said.

"You can opt in, but if you decide six months or a year from now that you can't,
you don't want to, you'd rather turn it over to the state, you can come back and
say we're changing our minds," she said.

"They (tribes) want to do this to protect everybody. It's just figuring out how
it's going to be done," Lowry said.

Virginia Davis, associate counsel for the National Congress of American Indians,
agreed that most tribes will likely let the states handle the sex-offender
registry.

She said her organization sought the year delay so there was more cooperation
going into the project.

"For this to work in Indian country, the states and the tribes are going to have
to work together," Davis said.

The tribes do want to prevent sex offenders from seeking refuge on reservations,
she said.

"The tribal leaders feel really strongly about this issue and are concerned
about keeping their communities safe. We have high rates of sexual assault in
Indian country, and this is an issue we care about," Davis said.

Marty Jackley, U.S. attorney in South Dakota, said all nine tribes in South
Dakota indicated they will form their own sex-offender registry but might still
let the state handle it.

John Strohman, legal counsel for the state's sex-offender registry, said it
didn't come cheap.

"The state has gone to great efforts to set up a real quality database," he
said. "We have to have the capacity to take DNA, process fingerprints and make
sure that the database is up to speed so that when you go online to check on
someone, that things are working."

Jackley said he has already seen the benefits of the new Adam Walsh requirement
because of other provisions that increase the minimum penalties for child
abusers and predators.

"It gives weight when you harm the most vulnerable members of society," he said
of the act.

On the Net:

South Dakota Sex Offender Registry: http://sor.sd.gov

National Sex Offender Public Registry: http://www.nsopr.gov


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