Morrison County Sheriff Shawn Larsen said that through a partnership with local police they have completed the annual predatory offender registration (POR) verifications for Morrison County.

During the most recent round of checks, multiple predatory offenders were checked in Morrison County. 44 predatory offenders were checked by the Morrison County Sheriff’s Office, Pierz Police Department, Motley Police Department and Royalton Police Department. Of that number; 22 were Level 1 offenders, 4 were Level 2, 1 was Level 3 and 17 offenders were not assigned a risk level. 47 predatory offenders were checked by the Little Falls Police Department, which are not part of the breakdown. The total number of offenders has decreased by 18 from last year. This is because they have either moved away from Morrison County or they have reached the end of their term and registration end date.

Each year, the sheriff’s offices in each county require a verification check for all predatory offenders who are on the registry and residing within the county. Back in 1991, Minnesota began registering predatory offenders and did not assign risk level until 1997. Only those offenders who have been sentenced to prison and who were released after January 1, 1997 have been assigned a risk level. Offenders sentenced to probation or juvenile offenders are not assigned a risk level. Level 1 offenders are those deemed by Department of Corrections officials as those least likely to reoffend while Level 3 offenders are considered most likely to reoffend.

All individuals were found to be compliant with conditions imposed upon them. According to Sheriff Larsen, it is important for us to keep tabs on the predatory offender registry. “I feel it is extremely important that these people remain aware that we know who they are and our office will continue to hold them accountable.”

By — Josh Peterson

News Reporter in Bemidji | jpeterson@lptv.org