Key Points:

• Despite existing laws on sex offender registration and monitoring gaps exist

• Arizona, along with many other states, chose not to follow the federal requirements

• 18 states, four US territories, 137 tribes have implemented the requirements

Legislators and field experts say Arizona’s “patchwork” of sex offender registration and notification laws still need improvement. 

Existing gaps include how offenders are supervised, the lack of auditing of offender level files, the need for more transparency in probation programs and ensuring probation officers and law enforcement have the resources to do their jobs as the law and statutes direct, Beth Goulden said. 

Goulden chairs the Sex Offender Management Board, a new multi-disciplinary board under the Department of Public Safety that develops and recommends statewide procedures for evaluating, treating and supervising adult and juvenile sex offenders.

A renewed call for reform comes after 25-year-old Abel Gblah, who is a level two sex offender on lifetime probation, followed a student into Orangewood Elementary School after they entered the building. Gblah is alleged to have falsely claimed to be a doctor, and led a 10-year-old girl into an empty classroom and sexually assaulted her, according to Phoenix Police and court documents.

Sen. Janae Shamp, R-Surprise, said the system failed and she’s making it a top legislative priority in the upcoming 2026 session. She held a news conference in November with several other legislators and experts who said the laws need improvement, even after three of her bills to improve them were signed into law over the past two legislative sessions.

“We are asking every hard question. Why was this man still on probation? Why were repeated violations met with leniency? Why were warning signs ignored until a child was hurt?” Shamp said.

Shamp pointed out Arizona fails at least five out of 11 categories of a federal law that established a comprehensive set of minimum standards for sex offender registration and notification, according to a 2021 Department of Justice report. The state meets four categories and has two deviations that “do not substantially disserve the purposes” of the act.

The law, known as the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act, was passed in 2006. 

Arizona, along with many other states, chose not to follow the federal requirements. Instead, Arizona follows the Sex Offender Community Notification statutes, which were passed in 1996, after a federal community notification statute known as “Megan’s Law” was passed. That law came after the 1994 sexual assault and brutal murder of a 7-year-old girl by her neighbor, who was a recently released sex offender.

The assessment is a screening tool that provides criminal justice practitioners with an awareness of a sex offender’s risk of recidivism. It evaluates 19 criteria that have been identified as good predictors of future behavior, according to the Department of Public Safety. 

Goulden pointed out the difference between the federal requirements and the state’s system. The federal act focuses on consequences of the offense, which can often result in plea agreements and that doesn’t necessarily tell the whole story, she said.

“You have to look at the actual behavior because the plea and the charge don’t always paint an accurate picture of what the person did to have them end up either on the registry or probation or whatnot,” she said.

Arizona’s assessments factor in the offense and consider risk criteria, such as impulsivity. 

“If you think about it, it’s more on the rare side to have stranger danger. A guy pulls up to a park and decides I’m going to kidnap a child and molest or rape them right then, and if you compare that to someone who may take months or years to groom a child,” Goulden said.

The issue Goulden sees is there is not an audit of the assessments, which are subjective. For example, someone living in Phoenix could be classified as a level three offender, then move to Gilbert, get re-assessed and be classified as a level one offender, Goulden said. 

“Are we assessing people the best way that I can? The most accurate way?” she said.

Under the 2006 federal law, states were required to implement the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, known as SORNA. States were given until 2009 to comply with the act, but Arizona requested two time extensions, which extended the deadline to 2011, according to legislative committee documents. If states do not implement it, they lose 10% of their federal funding from the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program, which is the leading source of federal justice funding to state and local jurisdictions, according to the Department of Justice.  

A report from the Justice Policy Institute concluded it would have cost Arizona about $10.2 million to implement it in 2009 dollars. By not implementing it, the state would lose about $365,388 in federal justice funding at that time. 

In fiscal year 2024, Arizona received about $3.94 million in federal justice funding under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program, according to the Bureau of Justice Assistance. Losing 10% equates to almost $400,000. 

Only 18 states, four American territories and 137 tribes have substantially implemented the requirements, according to the Department of Justice. In Arizona, 19 tribes have substantially implemented the requirements. 

Arizona’s current notification statutes kick off when someone registers as an offender. The Department of Public Safety and the sheriff’s office for the county in which the person resides are notified. That information is forwarded to the local jurisdiction, which may be the sheriff’s office itself. Then, officers conduct the risk assessment and assign one of three levels. The local law enforcement agency has to notify the community within 45 days of the person’s presence in the community, according to the statute.