On the Arizona sex offender registry, Level 1 is for offenders with the lowest reoffending risk. Level 1 sex offenders will not have their information widely disseminated through the community notification process, and might not even be listed in the publicly available database of sex offenders.

1. What is Level 1 on the Arizona sex offender registration?

Level 1 is the least severe of the 3 tiers in Arizona’s sex offender registration system. Sex offenders determined to have a low risk of reoffending through the assessment screening are assigned to Level 1.

The other tiers in the system are:

• Level 2, and
• Level 3, for sex offenders who have a high risk of reoffending.

Sex offenders in Level 1 will not go through the embarrassing community notification process.¹ Depending on the offense that led to their sex offender registration requirements, Level 1 offenders may not even be listed in the online database of sex offenders run by the Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS). However, they will still have to re-register every year and get a driver’s license that shows police that they are a registered sex offender.²

2. What is a sex offender assessment screening?

In Arizona, sex offender assessment screening is assigning a defendant convicted of a serious sex offense to 1 of the 3 tiers in the registration system. The risk assessment looks at 19 factors to determine how likely the sex offender would commit another sex crime, or another crime in general. The overall score from those 19 factors will determine which Level is appropriate for the sex offender.

The 19 factors are:

1. the number of times the defendant has been convicted for sex-related offenses, felony or misdemeanor,
2. the number of felony convictions on the defendant’s criminal history for non-sex-related offenses,
3. any sex-related arrests that did not lead to a conviction,
4. the defendant’s age at his or her first conviction for a sex-related offense,
5. whether the defendant ever used a weapon during a sex-related offense that led to a conviction,
6. the total number of victims in all sex offenses, including those that were dismissed through a plea agreement,
7. the gender of the victims in the defendant’s sex offense convictions,
8. the relationship between the defendant and his or her victim,
9. whether the defendant used more force than was necessary to complete the sexual offense,
10. aggravating characteristics to a conviction for a sexual offense, such as:
    • the victim was tied up or subject to unlawful imprisonment,
    • the offense lasted longer than 3 hours,
    • the defendant forcefully moved the victim to another location, or
    • the victim was tortured or mutilated.
11. whether the defendant has been committing sexual offenses for longer than 5 years,
12. whether the defendant used drugs or alcohol,
13. whether the defendant has an IQ under 70 or a mental illness or mood disorder,
14. the defendant’s employment or education history, before being sentenced,
15. the presence of any “sexually deviant interests,” like:
    • fetishes,
    • pedophilia,
    • voyeurism,
    • bestiality,
    • exhibitionism, often shown by a history of indecent exposure,
    • sexual sadism or masochism, or
    • necrophilia
16. for defendants with more than one prior conviction on their criminal record, the length of time between being released from prison and committing another felony offense,
17. whether the defendant had a major disciplinary issue while in confinement,
18. whether the defendant completed substance abuse treatment, post-conviction, and
19. whether the defendant completed sex offender treatment, post-conviction.³

Based on the responses, the sex offender receives 2 scores for each of their:

• risk of committing another sex offense, and
• risk of committing another criminal offense, in general.

If both scores show a low risk, the offender will be assigned to Level 1.⁴

3. Are Level 1 offenders in the online database?

Under Arizona’s registration law, Level 1 sex offenders will only be visible in the public online database if they have registration requirements for one of the following offenses:

• sexual assault,
• commercial sexual exploitation of a minor,
• non-commercial sexual exploitation of a minor,
• child prostitution,
• child sex trafficking, or
• any of the following sex offenses, if the victim was under 12 years of age:
  • luring of a child for sexual exploitation,
  • aggravated luring of a child for sexual exploitation,
  • sexual abuse,
  • continuous sexual abuse,
  • molestation of a child,
  • sexual conduct with a minor, or
  • taking a child for the purpose of prostitution.⁵

Suppose the registered sex offender was convicted or adjudicated guilty except insane for any of these offenses. In that case, the following registration information will appear in the online database for the public to see:

• the sex offender’s name, address, and age,
• a current photograph,
• the offense committed, and
• the sex offender’s risk Level.⁶

4. How is the community notified of a Level 1 offender’s presence?

When a Level 1 sex offender registers in an Arizona county, the county sheriff or local law enforcement agency has to keep a record of the offender, but does not need to conduct community notification.

Instead, the police department may only notify anyone sharing a residence with the convicted sex offender.⁷

This means that Level 1 offenders will not be identified to local community groups or prospective employers through a press release.

However, the repercussions of being a registered sex offender, at any level, are serious. Getting legal advice from a criminal defense attorney is essential.

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