The Office of Sheriff is mandated by law to register sex offenders. In an effort to enhance the effectiveness and uniformity with which this critical function is met throughout the state, the Georgia Sheriffs’ Association initiated steps to assist in this demanding task.
The Georgia Sheriffs’ Association Training Academy offers basic and annual training opportunities relative to registering, tracking, monitoring and prosecution of sex offenders. The Basic Training 101 is for newly assigned personnel who have not received formal training. The annual training conference provides ongoing support and information on advanced topics relevant to the sex offender registry. As with all training sessions, current guidelines and other pertinent information are distributed to class attendees.
Sex Offender Registry Enforcement
The Sex Offender Registry serves as a tool to warn the public and provide a means for law enforcement to track and monitor convicted sex offenders in the community. Georgia implemented the state’s Sex Offender Registry law in July 1, 1996, followed by numerous revisions throughout the years. The current statute mandates the sheriff’s office to register all sex offenders who claim residence in the county within 72 hours after release from prison or placed on probation, parole, supervised release, or entry into the state. Registration includes the tracking, monitoring, enforcement, and prosecution of registered sex offenders in Georgia.
Sex Offender Registration Task Force
The Sex Offender Registration Task Force (SORTF) is a division of the Georgia Sheriffs’ Association that assists sheriffs’ offices in the enforcement of the registry laws. The Task Force is comprised of eleven deputies from Georgia’s ten regions, one sheriff and the GSA SORTF Advisors. The representatives are knowledgeable in all aspects of the sex offender registry law and provide technical assistance to the sheriffs’ offices regarding the enforcement of the sex offender registry statutes.
The GSA and SORTF members exchange information with sheriffs’ offices via email. If you are responsible for registering and tracking sex offenders in your county and do not receive information at least once a quarter, or if you have questions related to the enforcement of the sex offender registry law, contact the representative in your region or any member of the SORTF. See below. To determine the region you are in, view the table below.
Every August, the Georgia Sheriffs’ Association Sex Offender Registration Manual is updated and distributed at the annual training conference. It is again updated in February or March. It is vital that every sheriff’s office obtain a copy of the most current Manual and flashdrive. The contents include:
- 2024 Georgia Sex Offender Registry Laws
- Georgia Sex Offender Registry Operational Guidelines
- Model Policy
- Sex Offender Registration Directories
- Frequently Used Forms
- Frequently Asked Questions
If your sheriff’s office does not have the most current manual and flashdrive, contact GSA’s Shelly Daniel or Brent Loeffler. Citizens may visit their local sheriff’s office website to view the sex offenders that reside and work in their county. You can also view the state sex offender registry at the GBI Sex Offender Registry website.
Georgia Sheriffs’ Association – Sex Offender Registration Task Force Members
Region 1: Frank Copeland, Gilmer County (Email)
Region 2: Casey Duffield, Gwinnett County (Email)
Region 3: Megan Bennett, White County (Email)
Northern Region At-Large: Christina Wise, Lumpkin County (Email)
Region 4: Vicki Massengale, Spalding County (Email)
Region 5: Tim Leonard, Houston County (Email)
Region 6: Shelly Daniel, GSA (Email)
Middle Region At-Large: Deputy Erica Williams, Fulton County (Email)
Region 7: Deputy Michael Kerce, Dougherty County (Email)
Region 8: Investigator Rodney Smith, Lowndes County (Email)
Region 9: Sgt. Brett Whritenour, Paulding County (Email)
Region 10: Ronnie Bivins, Montgomery County (Email)
Southern Region At-Large: Georgia Rimes, Ben Hill County(Email)
At Large:
Sheriff Janis Mangum, Jackson County (Email)
Shelly Daniel, GSA Director of Research & Information Services (Email)
Georgia Sheriffs’ Association – Sex Offender Registration Task Force Regions
| Region 1 | Region 2 | Region 3 | Region 4 | Region 5 | Region 6 | Region 7 | Region 8 | Region 9 | Region 10 |
| Bartow | Cherokee | Banks | Carroll | Baldwin | Bulloch | Baker | Atkinson | Appling | Ben Hill |
| Catoosa | Clayton | Barrow | Chattahoochee | Bibb | Burke | Calhoun | Bacon | Bryan | Bleckley |
| Chattooga | Cobb | Clarke | Coweta | Butts | Candler | Clay | Berrien | Camden | Crisp |
| Dade | DeKalb | Dawson | Fayette | Crawford | Columbia | Decatur | Brantley | Chatham | Dodge |
| Douglas | Forsyth | Elbert | Harris | Greene | Effingham | Dougherty | Brooks | Evans | Dooly |
| Fannin | Fulton | Franklin | Heard | Hancock | Emanuel | Early | Charlton | Glynn | Irwin |
| Floyd | Gwinnett | Habersham | Marion | Houston | Glascock | Grady | Clinch | Jeff Davis | Johnson |
| Gilmer | Henry | Hall | Meriwether | Jasper | Jefferson | Lee | Coffee | Liberty | Laurens |
| Gordon | Newton | Hart | Muscogee | Jones | Lincoln | Macon | Colquitt | Long | Montgomery |
| Haralson | Rockdale | Jackson | Pike | Lamar | McDuffie | Miller | Cook | McIntosh | Pulaski |
| Murray | Walton | Lumpkin | Spalding | Monroe | Richmond | Mitchell | Echols | Tattnall | Telfair |
| Paulding | Madison | Talbot | Morgan | Screven | Quitman | Lanier | Wayne | Tift | |
| Pickens | Oconee | Taylor | Peach | Taliaferro | Randolph | Lowndes | Lowndes | Treutlen | |
| Polk | Oglethorpe | Troup | Putnam | Toombs | Schley | Pierce | Turner | ||
| Walker | Rabun | Upson | Wilkinson | Warren | Seminole | Thomas | Twiggs | ||
| Whitfield | Stephens | Washington | Stewart | Ware | Wheeler | ||||
| Towns | Wilkes | Sumter | Wilcox | ||||||
| Union | Terrell | Worth | |||||||
| White | Webster |