EVERETT — The Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office has suspended weekly check-ins for homeless registered sex offenders until April 6 amid coronavirus concerns, the office said on its Facebook page Wednesday.
State law requires registered sex offenders who lack “a fixed residence” to report weekly, in person, to the local county sheriff’s office and provide an account of where he or she stayed the previous week.
Of the roughly 1,900 registered sex offenders in Snohomish County, about 100 are homeless, said Snohomish County Sheriff’s spokeswoman Courtney O’Keefe. When check-ins resume, they will be asked to disclose where they have been staying for the past two weeks.
Registered sex offenders who move to the county can still update their address by mail, O’Keefe said.
Other enforcement efforts related to registered sex offenders will continue.
“The community should know that the Sheriff’s Office takes public safety seriously,” O’Keefe said in an email. “Deputies and detectives are still doing RSO (registered sex offender) address verifications in Snohomish County, still filing failure to register for those who have been non-compliant, and still actively searching for RSOs with warrants for failure to register.”
As of Thursday, the fourth floor of the courthouse was closed to the public until further notice, the Sheriff’s Office said on Facebook.
All fingerprinting appointments have also been canceled and will be rescheduled.
People who normally receive fingerprinting services at the sheriff’s office include registered sex offenders, Concealed Pistol License applicants and employees who are required to do so by their employers.
Rachel Riley: 425-339-3465; rriley@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @rachel_m_riley.
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