The safety of the public is paramount for the Toombs County Sheriff’s Office, and that includes keeping the children and the general population safe from sexual offenders. That’s the objective of a program called OffenderWatch.
Of the 159 counties in Georgia, Toombs County is one of 95 that utilizes the notification system and Lt. Robyn Banks oversees OffenderWatch for the Toombs County Sheriff’s Office.
“I can’t remember exactly how long we’ve had this program; we’ve had it for several years,” Lt. Banks said, “but only 2.6 percent of the households in our area have registered for its use.”
According to Lt. Banks, there are 88 sex offenders registered with one offender considered absconded. Statewide, 15,042 offenders are listed on the Watch and any time they move within a radius you determine you will receive notification.
“If you are registered and comply with the order, they have to by law by keeping up updated on their living status and location, then we can let the public know that an offender is living in their area,” the Lieutenant said. “That’s really good to know – especially if you have children.”
Enrolling in the program is simple and the resources are a valuable tool. All you have to do is log on to the Toombs County Sheriff’s Office at toombscosheriff.org, click on the “Toombs County Sex Offenders Link” and from there you will be able to search for offenders yourself or register for email alerts. To register for alerts, you simply have to put your physical address and email address to receive notifications.
Also on the page, you can access safety tips for yourself and children, and connect with other vital information.
“You can also leave tips about sexual offenders anonymously or leave your name,” the Lieutenant said. “This helps us keep track to ensure offenders are following the mandated orders. If they are not, we have a deputy assigned to follow up on the tips and if necessary, we can make an arrest.”
From the Toombs County/OffenderWatch page, you can also check the status of offenders in other areas and states as long as the department in which they are registered utilizes the OffenderWatch program.
“As a department [Toombs County Sheriff’s Office] we can’t be everywhere all the time so OffenderWatch helps notify the public where and when we can’t,” Lt. Banks concluded.
