Des Moines, IOWA --- After just two months, the Iowa Sex Offender Registry’s Most Wanted page has yielded dozens of tips on non-compliant sex offenders, several arrests, and likely triggered a sustained increase in traffic to the Registry’s web site.
“We are very pleased with the results. The level of cooperation from the public has been outstanding and has led to many of the fugitive offenders being placed back on the radar,” says Special Agent in Charge Terry Cowman.
On February 15, 2011 the Iowa Department of Public Safety’s Division of Criminal Investigation launched a new page on its Sex Offender Registry web site. The page focuses on Iowa’s Most Wanted Sex Offenders; those who have absconded from terms of their registry requirements. The goal of the Most Wanted page is to help Iowans easily identify the roughly 25 sex offenders at any given time who refuse to comply with Iowa law, and encourage public notification of their whereabouts. Upon notification of the new website features, traffic to the website increased notably and has yielded a sustained 10-15% surge in page views for the past 60 days.
To date, 16 offenders featured on the Most Wanted site have been apprehended. Some offenders have been apprehended through diligent investigative work done by local law enforcement, and the public has contributed and assisted in a number of cases. A few of those include:
Robert L. Fair, age 31. Arrested after a tip was made to the Scott County Sheriff’s Office of his current location.
Bobby Blair, age 24. Apprehended after a member of the public made a call to the local police.
Antonio Mejia, age 19. Arrested after a public tip came into law enforcement in Waterloo.
Alfredo Skinner, age 32. Located and arrested based on information from a public tip as to his current whereabouts.
Cowman stated, “The information sharing partnership between members of the public, law enforcement and technology works to enhance public safety and awareness. These cases are one example of that.”
The Most Wanted page can be found at: http://www.iowasexoffender.com/mostwanted/
Curtis Bloes - Editor
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