Woodland, CA – December 6, 2019 – Earlier this week, Yolo County law enforcement conducted compliance checks on over 380 registered sex offenders within Yolo County. “Operation Vigilance” is a program that started eleven years ago with the goal of protecting Yolo County citizens by ensuring that sex offenders who live in the County are complying with all laws, probation and parole directives.
Law enforcement personnel from ten local, state, and federal agencies participated in this joint operation, including: Yolo County District Attorney Investigations Bureau, Yolo County Probation, Yolo County Sheriff’s Office, West Sacramento Police Department, Davis Police Department, UC Davis Police Department, Woodland Police Department, Winters Police Department, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Parole Team, Department of Homeland Security Investigations.
Many of the offenders were previously convicted of rape, child molestation or possession of child pornography. While the majority of the sex offenders investigated were in compliance with terms of registration, parole, and probation, two sex offenders were arrested for pornography related to children and methamphetamine offenses. An additional nine offenders are the subject of further investigation to determine whether they are in compliance with their sex offender registration.
One unique aspect of “Operation Vigilance” is that while officers are making home visits with registered sex offenders, forensic examiners search the offender’s computers, smartphones and other digital storage devices for potential violations. A total of fifty-two devices were searched and eleven items were seized for further examination.
This year the Yolo County District Attorney’s Criminal Investigation Bureau partnered with the Yolo County Information Technology Department’s, Global Information Services division to develop innovative software to dramatically improve officer efficiency and track the progress of the operation in real-time. This software will be made available to our law enforcement partners at no cost to help hold sex offenders accountable for their registration requirements.
District Attorney Jeff Reisig praised the efforts of all Yolo County law enforcement agencies who monitor sex offenders. “We completed a compliance check of 100% of the sex offenders that have a permanent address,” said Reisig. “Operation Vigilance continues to serve as an additional deterrent to those known sex offenders who may be prone to re-offend.”
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