Many registered individuals are senior citizens or others who suffer from a variety of health issues, any one of which puts them at increased risk of dying from the COVID-19 virus should they contract it. In addition, thousands of registered men, women, and teens run the risk of spreading this to their families and other innocent individuals.

“Sheriff Bizzell (Johnston) and Sheriff Baker (Wake) continue to send deputies door-to-door subjecting them to the likelihood of COVID-19 exposure. Both of these sheriffs are still requiring registered people to appear in-person despite suspending all other in-person activities such as fingerprinting until further notice. These are elected officials who are deliberately and unnecessarily endangering their own officers and staffs as well as law-abiding citizens. This must stop,” stated Robin Vander Wall, president of NCRSOL.

“There are simply better, safer options,” said Dwayne Daughtry, NCRSOL’s executive director. “We live in a period where technology is in the palm of our hands. Courts, businesses, and healthcare professionals have long been using mobile apps and videotelephony platforms. Now is the time for North Carolina’s law enforcement community to join the 21st century and utilize safer technological alternatives to ‘in-person’ reporting requirements,” Daughtry continued.

“National, state, and community leaders are uniformly calling for social distancing and to reduce unnecessary contacts and visits. People affected by the registry are less likely to be medically insured and pose no statistical threat to the community in the first place. In contrast, the COVID-19 virus is the most significant threat to our community, state, and nation. Does the governor want people on the registry to be infected? Does the governor want county deputies to expose themselves to infected people? This is senseless!” stated Daughtry.

“Our elected leaders should be proactive and work towards a rational solution to keep all North Carolinians safe in a time of crisis. Let’s not continue placing law enforcement officers and registered citizens in harm’s way for the sake of unreasonable ‘in person’ reporting and senseless verification policies,” Daughtry concluded.

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NCRSOL was organized and incorporated in 2016 when several registrants and their supporters formed to create a more visible presence throughout the state after being urged on by reports of resurgent legislative efforts to enact tougher laws against North Carolina’s nearly 24,000 registered sex offenders.

NCRSOL is designated a 501(c)(4) for IRS purposes and is the state affiliate of the National Association for Rational Sexual Offense Laws (NARSOL).