ST. LOUIS (AP) — A state audit has found that police across Missouri don’t know the whereabouts of nearly 1,300 registered sex offenders, including hundreds who fall into the most dangerous category.
Missouri state Auditor Nicole Galloway, a Democrat, released the audit in St. Louis on Monday.
Missouri law requires convicted sex offenders to register their name, address and other information with county law enforcement where they live, most often the sheriff’s department. The Missouri State Highway Patrol then maintains a publicly available database. Offenders must keep their information up-to-date and notify police when they move.
The audit says 1,259 sex offenders are unaccounted for — about 8 percent of the nearly 16,000 registered sex offenders in Missouri — and blames inadequate enforcement of the registration requirement at the local level.
