News release

Province Increases Number of Sex Offender Registration Sites

Justice

Government is committed to supporting safer communities. That is why there will soon be more sex offender registration sites to support police in conducting investigations.

Starting Dec.9, all RCMP detachments in the province will be able to process the annual registration of convicted sex offenders. This change will result in 39 more registration sites for a total of 58 locations, including three municipal police agencies - Cape Breton Regional Police, Halifax Regional Police and the New Glasgow Regional Police.

“The actions of sex offenders have lasting impacts on victims and our communities,” said Mark Furey, Attorney General and Minister of Justice. “Increasing the number of RCMP detachments where offenders can register will help increase compliance and provide police officers with more timely information about sex offenders in the community. This will help police prevent and investigate crimes of a sexual nature.”

Under the Sex Offender Information Registration Act all police agencies have access to the National Sex Offender Registry, which helps police in preventing and investigating crimes.

Quick Facts:

  • registered sex offenders must report to a registration centre once a year, in addition to other reporting obligations like notification of a change of address, employment and volunteer activities, enrolment at an educational institution, receipt of driver’s license or passport, and notification within seven days of travel in and outside of Canada
  • police conduct address verifications for registered sex offenders throughout the year to validate information and ensure compliance with court-ordered obligations
  • the RCMP is responsible for the operation and maintenance of the registry. All police agencies in Canada play a role in the collection of data and can access information.
  • other jurisdictions have also expanded the number of registration sites including Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario and Prince Edward Island

Additional Resources:

Nova Scotia Sex Offender Information Registration Regulations: https://laws.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/SOR-2004-305/index.html

Sex Offender Information Registration Act: https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/S-8.7/page-1.html

RCMP National Sex Offender Registry: https://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/en/sex-offender-management

Victim Services: https://novascotia.ca/just/victim_Services/

Legal Advice for Sexual Assault Survivors: https://novascotia.ca/sexualassaultlegaladvice/

Nova Scotia RCMP detachments: https://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/detach/en/find/NS

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