Gov. Bentley to look at sex offender registry

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - FOX10 continues to dig deeper into inaccuracies we uncovered within Alabama's Sex Offender Registry.

FOX10 first reported about the inaccuracies when a convicted rapist allegedly struck again in Mobile, Ala. At the same time he was booked into Mobile Metro Jail, he was listed on the state’s site as being incarcerated in Montgomery.

FOX10 asked the governor his thoughts.

We first alerted Governor Robert Bentley to this problem a few weeks ago , and Wednesday we asked if he thought there was a problem with the system that allows inaccuracies like the ones we pointed out.

“You know, I know that this is an issue that we, everyone, is concerned about. I know sex offenders are something that everyone is concerned about especially where there are children. You know, there are many different types of sex offenders," said Bentley.

He said getting the information updated require team work between state and local governments.

"Were going to make sure those numbers are up to date the best we can, but local law enforcement has to do a lot of that," he added.

FOX10 turned to the Mobile County Sheriff’s office to look at how they communicate with the Alabama Department of Public Safety, the agency tasked with maintaining the states registry.

It’s all handled though a system called Offender Watch, and it’s the same database throughout the state according to Lori Myles with the sheriff’s office.

"We all look at the same offender watch," said Myles.

Then, why are there inconsistencies?

For example, people are listed on the state’s registry as being incarcerated when they are actually out of jail.

"The bottom line to all of this is we have a beautiful computer system in place but there are still checks and balances, and the key to checks and balances is communication,” said Myles.

Myles said when information is updated by the county, it’s immediately sent to ADPS. In turn, ADPS gets a notification and updates the information on its registry.

Myles said much of the problem is local and state agencies not communicating.

We asked the governor if people should be able to trust the information put out by the state.

“Well you know, we need to make sure that it’s accurate. And so, I'm going to look at that information and ask some questions when I get back to Montgomery," said Bentley.

One problem the sheriff’s office pointed out is that the system communicates county or municipality to state, but not county/municipality to county/municipality.