NC Law Enforcement Officials Partner to Make Sure Sex Offenders in Forsyth County Comply With Law

The Forsyth County Sheriff's Department is partnering with local, state and federal agencies to target high risk sex offenders who are not complying with North Carolina law.

Last week, authorities conducted 242 unplanned visits to homes in the county. During “Operation Hammer”, they worked to verify addresses, checked to see if the convicted sex offenders were registered and if they were complying with the conditions of their conviction.  

Bill Schatzman, Forsyth County Sheriff, says as a result of the two day operation, his office is investigating 14 new cases, including a computer crime violation, a weapons violation and 11 cases of a sex offender failing to register an address change.

“Certainly the number of sex offenders has grown, so the number of personnel and resources directed to that program has also grown. I think all of that work together,  has sent a message to the sex offender community that you don't violate in Forsyth County. We will identify you and put you back in prison,” says Schatzman.

Both Winston-Salem and Kernersville Police Departments, the N.C. Department of Public Safety Division of Adult Correction, the N.C. SBI and the U.S. Marshals Service also worked on the investigation.

“We were pretty much right on target for what we were looking for. We also did serve quite a few warrants on people that were fugitives running from supervision. We did find one from the state of New Jersey that we took into custody, so we were pretty much right on target for what we were looking for,” says Dennis Blackberry, chief probation officer for the N.C. Department of Public Safety

Authorities says similar operations will take place in the coming months. Forsyth County has 574 registered sex offenders, 89 of whom are in custody.

Some law enforcement officials say the Forsyth County program is a model for the rest of the state. Chief Darryl Wilson with the N.C. Department of Public Safety says, “The partnership within itself is unique when you combine state, local and federal law enforcement agencies together. Everyone has their own piece of information as far as intelligence and it works best when everyone can come together and share their information to meet one common goal, which is to have no more victims in the state of North Carolina.”