(Thursday, February 25^th, 2010)  Beginning at approximately 6:00 PM, the Gwinnett County Police Department, in conjunction with the Gwinnett County Sheriff's Office, Gwinnett County Probation, Gwinnett County Parole and the Cities of Lawrenceville, Duluth, Lilburn and Norcross Police Departments, initiated a Sexual Offender Verification Sweep across Gwinnett County.  The "sweep" was a conscious and proactive effort by Gwinnett County Law Enforcement and was designed to help make Gwinnett County a safer place by ensuring that Sexual Offenders within the Gwinnett Community are honoring the obligations placed upon them by the judicial system. 

The operation consisted of 106 local law enforcement officials, 64 being from the Gwinnett County Police Department.  It was begun over three months ago when a member of the Gwinnett County Police Department conceptualized an operation designed to ensure that convicted sexual offenders were adhering to the restrictions imposed upon them by the courts and to further enhance proactive law enforcement in our communities.  This operation involved most of the specialized units within the Gwinnett County Police Department, including: the Crime Suppression Unit, the Gangs Unit, the DUI Task Force, Detectives from the Special Victims' Unit and the Electronic and Financial Crimes Unit as well as precinct level Community Response Teams. To further facilitate this effort, the named agencies joined the police department, combining their resources to make this operation a success. 

The operation covered all of Gwinnett County and was three-fold.  Primarily, it was designed to physically verify the information provided by approximately 350 registered sexual offenders living in Gwinnett County.  Teams of law enforcement officers were each assigned a specific list of registered offenders to locate and verify.  Additionally, the operation included added initiatives designed to locate any transient and locally unregistered sexual offenders, by comparing the national register with local databases and the registers of area extended stay hotels.  Lastly, the operation utilized the resources of probation and parole officers combined with detectives to exhaustively check into the activities of registered sexual offenders actively on probation or parole.  

The operation was successfully concluded shortly after midnight on Friday, February 26^th.  One of the primary goals underpinning this initiative was to convey, to all registered sexual offenders living within Gwinnett County, that law enforcement will check and verify the information they are required to provide. Preliminary reports indicate that officers took 13 persons into custody, obtaining 9 Felony Arrest Warrants and 11 Misdemeanor Arrest Warrants.  They also located 2 stolen vehicles.  One unregistered sexual offender was identified and subsequently arrested. In all, the information provided by 175 offenders was verified.  Those who were not located last night can certainly expect to receive a follow-up visit.  

Chief of Police Charles Walters stated, "It is clear, concentrating our resources to combat crime has proven and positive effects. This Department continues its ongoing commitment to the citizens of Gwinnett County by introducing innovative and creative ways to further our community policing efforts."