Auditor Bump Testifies on Needed Sex Offender Registry Board Changes

A recent audit from State Auditor Suzanne M. Bump found that as of February 2017, the Massachusetts Sex Offender Registry Board (SORB) did not have a current address for 1,769 convicted sex offenders, of which 936 had never been classified. The failure to classify these 936 offenders means that members of the public had no way of determining if an individual who posed a significant risk of reoffending lived in their communities, nor did the public have access to critical information about these offenders, such as their names, photographs, registration status, and offenses, which the law requires be included in the registry.

To address these problems, Bump recommends that SORB use existing data-sharing agreements with state agencies to find addresses for offenders that are out of compliance, and explore developing similar agreements with other executive branch agencies.

Auditor Bump will testify before the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security about the findings of her audit, and the recommendations for addressing the deficiencies she identified.