OC Sheriff credits Officer and App for High Compliance Rate

The Oconee County Sheriff’s Office utilizes a full-time deputy and new mobile app to keep track of sex offenders. In 2014, the number of sex offenders living in Oconee County increased, explains Sheriff Mike Crenshaw. “We increased our sex offenders in the county last year by seven; we went from 159 to 166. We have a 96% compliance rate.” Sheriff Crenshaw credits the high compliance rate with having a deputy assigned specifically to ensure offenders are living where they are supposed to be living. “In talking about our sex offenders, of course South Carolina uses Offender Watch, which is a vendor that is utilized to monitor our sex offenders and we became the first agency in the state to start using their mobile app. I have a deputy that is assigned to our sex offenders. She goes out and can actually take this on her cell phone or laptop out to the sex offender’s home and enters all the information right there.” In 2014, seven warrants were signed for sex offender registry violations, with guilty pleas entered in five cases and guilty verdicts returned in the other two cases.