April 15, 2008

Washington, DC – Nevada Senators Harry Reid and John Ensign announced today that the city of Henderson and the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California were awarded federal grants totaling more than $210,000 to be used for sex offender tracking and child safety measures.  The grants will allow Henderson police to implement a Sex Offender Tracking Unit Enforcement Project and the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California to create and maintain its own Sex Offender Registry. 

The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act was signed into law in 1996, creating the national sex offender registry.  The Adam Walsh Act Implementation Grant Program allows the Department of Justice to award grants to assist state, local and tribal jurisdictions in implementing and/or enhancing sex offender registration and notification programs.  

The projects take a proactive approach to sex offender registration, tracking and compliance by addressing both the verification of sex offenders and the non-compliance of sex offenders by special enforcement efforts.  The funding will also allow the Washoe Tribe to more efficiently alert individuals in affected neighborhoods to the presence of sex offenders; and, ultimately, lower the number of criminal offenses against children. 

“This funding is invaluable because it provides Nevada families a greater sense of security,” Reid said.  “In helping to provide the proper registration, tracking, and notification, these grants fund projects that I hope will help lower the number of sex offenses in our state.” 

“Protecting children from sexual predators is a very real concern for all parents,” said Ensign.  “The funding provided by the Department of Justice, through the Adam Walsh Act, will allow our law enforcement to take a proactive stance in identifying sexual offenders in neighborhoods and will allow parents to play a larger role in protecting their children from harm.  I have worked hard in the Senate to provide law enforcement agencies with the resources they need to keep our children safe, and I am pleased to see that Nevada families will benefit from this.”