South Carolina Reviewer's Comments

The South Carolina Sex Offender Registry provides basic information on sex offenders over the age of 17 and minor offenders convicted of specific crimes defined by state law. With links to reports and electronic monitoring status for probation officers, and without risk assessment or a mapping function, this site is more useful to law enforcement than South Carolina residents. 

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Information Provided:  

Standard physical description is included in the profile along with addresses, criminal charges, aliases and registration information. Fields are provided for victim and weapon information, but these were rarely complete. Sexual Predators are clearly marked in red. 

Search Functions:  

With the details available in the profiles, the search function could be more refined. You may search by name, county, city and zip code. Limiting results to Sexual Predators and excluding incarcerated sex offenders or those confined to institutions would provide more meaningful search results. 

Additional Site Features:  

South Carolina clearly states who has to register and the registration requirements. Links to agencies that help victims and public education material for prevention and awareness should be added to this site. 

Ease of Use:  

The South Carolina Sex Offender Registry is easy to use, but lacks features that would improve its usefulness to concerned residents. The public website should be dedicated to residents, law enforcement functions are useless and may cause confusion.\ 

Contact Information:  

The Chief of the State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) can be contacted by telephone, email or mail. 

Summary:  

South Carolina should dedicate its sex offender registry to its residents by eliminating law enforcement functions, expanding searches and adding an interactive map. With these improvements, South Carolina could provide a much more useful service to the public.