Community Notification

(1) Pursuant to M.G.L. c. 6, § 178K(2)(c), the police department shall actively notify organizations and individual members of the public in the community that are likely to encounter a finally classified Level 3 sex offender or a sexually violent predator through a community notification plan. The community notification plan shall require notification by the police department to all schools in the community. The chief of the police department may notify day care centers, youth programs, recreational programs, organizations providing elder services, and other organizations as deemed necessary to protect the public safety. (2) The method of community notification may include, but is not limited to: (a) publication of the information in local newspapers; (b) public announcement via local cable television; and (c) posting the information in the local town or city hall, libraries, and similar publicly accessible areas, as determined by the chief of police. (3) As part of a community notification plan, the chief of the police department may put the registration information for Level 3 sex offenders who live, work, or attend school in the community on the police department's website. The police department's website must comply with M.G.L. c. 6, § 178D and 803 CMR 1.27 and must be regularly updated with information from the Sex Offender Registry. The chief shall develop and implement policies, procedures, and protocols such as those described in 803 CMR 1.27 for the department's website. The chief may include, on the department's website, a link to the Sex Offender Internet Database or Public Website as described in 803 CMR 1.27. (4) Police departments shall, at least once annually, actively disseminate Level 3 sex offender information. If a Level 3 offender has been designated a sexually violent predator, community notification shall occur every 90 calendar days. Community notification shall also occur each time a Level 3 sex offender changes their home address, secondary address, or work address, or enrolls as a student. Pursuant to M.G.L. c. 6, § 178K(c)(2), the Board and police may require or facilitate additional active dissemination if deemed necessary to protect the public.