KIRKSVILLE, MISSOURI -- During the week of March 21, 2010 the Adair County Sheriff’s Office conducted an unannounced operation designed to confirm the compliance of all the registered sex offenders within the county.

Following our announcement of this operation to the public, questions have been raised as to the compliance of certain offenders.  An example would be a registered offender living too close to a public park.

When it comes to sex offender registration and the levels of compliance an offender must meet, it is safest to say that the applicable laws are not “one size fits all”.  Compliance laws at the State and especially the Federal level are constantly being challenged in various courts.

In the example of the offender living possibly too close to a public park, issues that need to be investigated by law enforcement include in what year the offender was convicted, and how long the offender has been living at the residence.  The residence may pre-date the public park.  Some compliance laws are retroactive, while others are not.

How any given Prosecuting Attorney’s Office chooses to interpret a particular compliance law is also a factor that law enforcement must take into account.

The bottom line is that law enforcement, and the Adair County Sheriff’s Office in particular, must approach each offender’s compliance status on a case-by-case basis.

Sheriff Hardwick wishes to encourage anyone within our community that has a concern in relation to a sex offender’s compliance to please feel free to contact the Sheriff’s Office.  Their concerns will be addressed in a timely and professional manner.