Sex Offenders

The Sex Offender Notification: Your Right To Know

On June 1, 1997, Wisconsin Act 440, entitled "Sex Offender Registration and Community Notification Law", became effective.  This is Wisconsin's version of "Megan's Law", a law intended to help protect society by identifying convicted sex offenders and their placements within communities.  This law applies to all persons who, on or after 12/25/93 were sentenced, in an institutional setting, discharged, or on field supervision for certain sex crimes.  The Department of Corrections has allowed local law enforcement the discretion to determine, on an individual basis, the need for community notification.

How does the Franklin Police Department Deal With Registered Sex Offenders in Our Community?

In Wisconsin, convicted sex offenders are registered with the Department of Corrections upon their release from prison.  Once released into the community, they must report to the local police department to participate in a face-to-face registration process.  In Franklin, the face-to-face registration consists of an interview as well as a booking, which includes fingerprinting and photographs.  The interview is designed to gather intelligence about the offender, including their place of residence, employment and school, hobbies and interests, rules of supervision, details of the crime for which they were convicted, and other pertinent information.  Based on this interview, and with information provided about the offender from the Department of Corrections, an assessment is made regarding the potential of this offender to re-offend, and the degree of danger this person presents to the community.

The assessment of an offender's potential to re-offend is not an exact science.  Many factors are considered.  If there are sufficient factors present to suggest a potential for danger to the community, a decision group is convened within the Police Department to determine what type of community notification might be necessary.  In all cases, the safety of the community is our first and foremost concern.

The City of Franklin has enacted legislation (Chapter 167 of the Municipal Code and Section 15-3.0702 C of the City of Franklin Unified Development Ordinance) that makes it a violation of City ordinance for convicted sex offenders to live or be present in certain restricted areas of the City.  If a sex offender is found to be residing within one of the enumerated restricted areas, the City Attorney's Office will initiate an action in Circuit Court to seek his removal.  If a sex offender is found to have entered a designated "Child Safety Zone", as described by ordinance, he is subject to the issuance of a Municipal Citation.

Sex offenders have always lived in our communities; but it wasn't until passage of Act 440 that law enforcement was able to share this information with the community.

Some of the individuals listed are currently under the supervision of the Department of Corrections, while others are not.  Those individuals who are under supervision are required to follow certain rules.  Each released sex offender under supervision will have a specific set of rules that he/she must follow that is specifically tailored for that individual.     

***It is not the intent of the Legislature that this information be used to injure, harass, or commit a criminal act against persons named in the registry, their families, or employers.  Anyone who takes any criminal action against these registrants, including vandalism of property, verbal or written threats of harms or physical assault against these registrants, their families or employers will be arrested and prosecuted. Please understand that such abuse could potentially end law enforcement's ability to make these community notifications.  We believe the only person who wins if community notification ends is the sex offender, since sex offenders derive their power or ability to victimize through secrecy.  Our belief is that an informed community is a safer community.

DISCLAIMER
This information is updated regularly to ensure that the registry is as accurate and current as possible.  However, you are cautioned that the information provided on this site can change quickly, and may not reflect the current residence, status, or other information regarding the registrant.  Each registrant submits registry information, and sometimes the information provided is not accurate.  Sometimes registrants fail to notify us about a change in residence, status, or other information.  The Franklin Police Department cannot guarantee the accuracy of this information and is not responsible for any errors or omissions produced by secondary dissemination of this information.  If you believe that any of the information contained in the registry is inaccurate, please contact us.

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Sex Offender Registry