[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 32, Number 26 (Monday, July 1, 1996)]
[Page 1137]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Memorandum on the Development of a National Sexual Offender Registration 
System

June 25, 1996

Memorandum for the Attorney General

Subject: Development of a National Sexual Offender Registration System

    One of the most important duties of government is to provide safety 
and protection for our children from sexual offenders. Sex crimes and 
sex offender recidivism present very real and substantial challenges to 
law enforcement in protecting vulnerable populations and preventing 
crime. Law enforcement data show that, as a group, sex offenders are 
significantly more likely than other repeat offenders to commit 
additional sex crimes or other violent crimes, and that tendency 
persists over time.
    One of the most significant provisions in the ``Violent Crime 
Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994'' (Crime Bill) was the Jacob 
Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender 
Registration Act (Wetterling Act). It promotes the establishment by 
States of effective registration systems for child molesters and other 
sexually violent offenders.
    In addition, I recently signed ``Megan's Law,'' which builds upon 
the Crime Bill by making community notification concerning registered 
sex offenders mandatory. Megan's Law will require States to make public 
relevant information about child molesters and sexually violent 
offenders who are released from prison or placed on parole.
    Sex offender registration systems can greatly assist the 
investigation of sex crimes. In addition, creation of State-based 
registration systems is crucial for enabling State law enforcement 
agencies to communicate with each other regarding sex offenders who 
cross State lines. When sex offenders move, the law should move with 
them.
    It is time to take the next step. That is why I am directing the 
Department of Justice to develop a plan for the implementation of a 
national sexual predator and child molester registration system. This 
system should build upon the Wetterling Act--which is already 
establishing 50 separate sex offender registration and notification 
systems--by combining this information into a national system.
    I want the Department to work with all 50 States, the Congress, the 
Judiciary, and all appropriate Federal agencies on a plan for such a 
system so that law enforcement officers at every level will have access 
to information on all sexual offenders in the United States and share 
this information with one another.
    Please report to me in writing by August 20, 1996, on the specific 
steps you will take to develop this policy. Thank you for all the work 
you and the Department have done to date, and for the work it will take 
to put this important piece in place.
                                            William J. Clinton