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The West Virginia State Police Sex Offender Registry is one of only three states to offer a search by electronic identity (email or screen name). Profiles offer relevant crime information, which may prove helpful to West Virginians in gauging the risk associated with a particular sex offender. Unfortunately, the state does not include a formal risk assessment or mapping function, two important features seen on higher ranked state sex offender registries.

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Information Provided:

Profiles include standard physical description, photograph, home, work and school addresses. The offense information offers more details than most other states including victim relation, sex and age and time served for the conviction. Risk assessment is not included on this site, but Sexually Violent Predators are identified.

Search Functions:

West Virginia is one of three registries in the country to include an electronic identity search; it is similar to Arizona’s email/username search. You may search by Last Name, Street Name, City and County and limit your search to wanted offenders and/or sexually violent predators. Results include a tally of the total offenders for that particular search. A mapping function would improve the usability of this site.

Additional Site Features:

The only information posted on this site is about the West Virginia code regarding the sex offender registry and a link to a page where you can search West Virginia code.

Ease of Use:

The West Virginia Sex Offender Registry is simple to use with a single search page and two search types. Instructions are clear.

Contact Information:

You can contact the Webmaster by email or the West Virginia registry by telephone or mail. Wanted sex offenders (those not in compliance, warrant issued) are clearly labeled in red and citizens are encouraged to report any information helpful to locating these offenders.

Summary:

West Virginia leads the way with Florida and Arizona by providing an electronic identity search. Offense information is more complete than what is included in most states’ sex offender profiles. However, West Virginia must add a mapping function to match the usefulness of higher ranked—and more useful—sex offender registries.