(a) The Metropolitan Police Department shall have the authority to release and disseminate the information obtained on sex offenders. The authorized activities of the Metropolitan Police Department under this section include, but are not limited to, active and passive notification to all or parts of the community concerning a sex offender, including but not limited to:
(1) Victims and witnesses;
(2) Public and private educational institutions, day care entities and other institutions or organizations that provide services to or employ individuals who may be victimized by a sex offender;
(3) Members of the public or governmental agencies requesting information on identified individuals for employment or foster care background checks or similar purposes;
(4) The public at large; and
(5) Any unit of the Metropolitan Police Department and other law enforcement agencies.
(b)(1)(A) Active notification under this section refers to affirmatively informing persons or entities about sex offenders. Authorized means of active notification include, but are not limited to, community meetings, flyers, telephone calls, door-to-door contacts, electronic notification, direct mailings, and media releases.
(B) Passive notification under this section refers to making information about sex offenders available for public inspection or in response to inquiries. Authorized means of passive notification include, but are not limited to, Internet postings, making registration lists and information about registrants available for inspection at police stations and other locations, and responding to written or oral inquiries in person, through the mail, by telephone, or through email or other electronic means. The Metropolitan Police Department shall develop and implement a system to make available for public inspection by means of the Internet all or part of the portions of the sex offender registry relating to Class A and Class B offenders, as defined in paragraph (2) of this subsection.
(2) For purposes of this section:
(A) Class A offenders shall consist of sex offenders who are required to register for life as provided in § 22-4002(b);
(B) Class B offenders shall consist of sex offenders, other than Class A offenders, who are required to register for an offense against a minor, or who are required to register for sexual abuse of a ward or sexual abuse of a patient or client under Chapter 30 of this title; and
(C) Class C offenders shall consist of sex offenders other than Class A and Class B offenders.
(3) Passive notification may be carried out concerning any sex offender, except that information made available under this section for public inspection by means of the Internet shall be limited to information on Class A and Class B offenders. Active notification concerning Class A offenders may be provided to any person or entity. Active notification concerning Class B and Class C offenders may be provided to:
(A) Law enforcement agencies;
(B) Organizations that deal with or provide services to vulnerable populations or victims of sexual offenses, including but not limited to schools, day care centers, other child care and youth-serving organizations, facilities caring for or providing services to the elderly or persons with impairments, shelters, churches, and victims rights and victims services entities;
(C) Victims of and witnesses to a sex offender's crime or crimes and parents, guardians, and family member of such persons; and
(D) Any person where the Metropolitan Police Department has information indicating that the sex offender may pose a specific risk to that person, and parents, guardians, and family members of such a person.
(c) The Metropolitan Police Department shall conduct community education about the appropriate use of sex offender registration information.
(d) All publicly disseminated sex offender registration information shall contain a warning that crimes committed against sex offenders will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
(e) This section does not limit the authority of the Metropolitan Police Department to release information concerning any person, except that the identity of a victim of an offense requiring registration shall be treated as confidential information as provided in the regulations issued under subsection (g) of this section.
(f) If the Agency informs the Metropolitan Police Department that a person has provided the Agency with a notice of intent to seek review of the determination that he or she must register under this chapter in conformity with § 22-4004(a)(2)(A), the Metropolitan Police Department shall not release registration information on the person to the public unless and until the Agency informs the Metropolitan Police Department that the Court has certified that the person must register under this chapter, the person has failed to file a motion in the Court within the time allowed by § 22-4004(a)(2)(B), or the person's motion for review of the determination has been withdrawn or dismissed.
(g) Within 210 days of the effective date of this chapter, the Mayor shall promulgate proposed rules, in accordance with subchapter I of Chapter 5 of Title 2, to carry out all functions of this chapter. Not less than 75 days prior to the proposed effective date of the proposed rules, the Mayor shall submit them to the Council for a 30-day review period, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, legal holidays and days of Council recess. If the Council does not approve or disapprove the proposed rules, or amendments to existing rules in whole or in part, by resolution within this 30-day review period, the proposed rules or amendments to existing rules shall be deemed approved.
CREDIT(S)
(July 11, 2000, D.C. Law 13-137, § 12, 47 DCR 797.)
HISTORICAL AND STATUTORY NOTES
Legislative History of Laws
For Law 13-137, see notes following § 22-4001.