For the past several decades, states all across the country, including Washington State, have created and updated programs that require defendants convicted of specific sexual offenses to register as designated sex offenders. The requirement to register as a sex offender can mean different things based upon the nature of the offense for which they were convicted, among other factors. These things correlate to a level designation assigned to each individual.
The Washington State Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs indicate that each person who must register as a sex offender will be identified as either a Level I, a Level II or a Level III offender. The Level I designation is given in the least serious cases when a person has been deemed to have the lowest level of risk for re-offending. In contrast, the Level III designation is given in the most serious cases when a person has been deemed to have the highest risk for re-offending.
Persons who must register as Level I offenders do not have their names published on the state’s sex offender registry, but anyone who must register as a Level II or a Level II offender will have their names published on the state’s site. Members of the public may sign up to request email alerts when a Level II or a Level III offender has moved into their neighborhood.
If you would like to learn more about what the different levels for classifying sex offenders are and mean to you or anyone you know who has been convicted of a sex crime, please feel free to visit the sex offender registry page of our Washington State criminal defense website.