Operation Watchful Eye Arrests 200 Sex Offenders in Georgia

LaFayette, GA (WDEF) – Walker County Sheriff Steve Wilson reports that Georgia arrested 221 registered sex offenders in the week before Halloween.

Wilson is President of the Georgia Sheriff’s Association.

His first official duty in the job was to coordinate a crackdown on offenders during a specific time frame.

Operation Watchful Eye targeted the Halloween season, when kids are most likely to go to strangers’ doors.

State law requires sheriffs to conduct residence verifications and compliance checks of sex offenders.

The 221 arrests this year were for violations of the registration laws.

“We hope this statewide initiative created awareness that sheriffs’ offices work collectively, network, and actively engage their office by participating in statewide verification checks and other non-compliant matters, in order to make our state safer and showcase the excellent work of our sheriff’s offices,” stated Sheriff Wilson.

The numbers of Operation Watchful Eye:

11,982 registered sex offenders
224 predators
145 homeless sex offenders currently living in their counties.
8,045 residence verifications were conducted
153 new warrants were issued for violations of the sex offender registry law.
39 reported that 68 sex offenders moved into their county during the week.

Remember, for the protection of your family and neighbors, visit your local sheriff’s office website or visit the http://gbi.georgia.gov/georgia-sex-offender-registry for more information on the whereabouts of registered sex offenders in your community.