For Immediate Release

Albuquerque, NM – Operation Complete Clean Up, a four month long sex offender verification operation, concluded August 31, 2012 with outstanding participation and results. The operation was a New Mexico wide effort to verify that every sex offender located in the State, including Tribal and Pueblo lands, was in compliance with applicable federal and state law. These compliance checks included verifications of places of residence, work, and school locations if the offender was attending a post-secondary educational program. The main goals of the operation were simple; to verify offender compliance ensuring the safety and security of the public and to offer assistance to County, Tribal and Pueblo jurisdictions in completing this public safety task. The operation, which began May 01, 2012, verified 3,254 sex offenders and their addresses. This figure accounts for approximately 98% of all offenders living in the state of New Mexico and on Tribal or Pueblo lands. Approximately 2,857 offenders live within New Mexico’s 33 counties. The remaining offenders live on Tribal or Pueblo lands. Officers conducting the verifications were able confirm 100% of the offenders living on tribal lands. The operation resulted in 46 registration violations being referred to the United States Marshals Service for Federal Prosecution based on the Adam Walsh Act. In addition there were several hundred arrests made pursuant to local warrants and violations of the State’s sex offender registration law. In total the Marshals Service and cooperating agencies spent more than 57,600 total hours during the 30 individual operations that comprised Operation Complete Clean Up. The operation, covering over 121,298 square miles, cost less than $34,000 to complete.

The operation was collaborative effort by the United States Marshals Service and the following 62 agencies: Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office, Catron County Sheriff’s Office, Chaves County Sheriff’s Office, Colfax County Sheriff’s Office, De Baca County Sheriff’s Office, Dona Ana County Sheriff’s Office, Eddy County Sheriff’s Office, Grant County Sheriff’s Office, Guadalupe County Sheriff’s Office, Harding County Sheriff’s Office, Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office, Lea County Sheriff’s Office, Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, Los Alamos County Sheriff’s Office, Luna County Sheriff’s Office, McKinley County Sheriff’s Office, Mora County Sheriff’s Office, Quay County Sheriff’s Office, Rio Arriba County Sheriff’s Office, Roosevelt County Sheriff’s Office, San Juan County Sheriff’s Office, Sandoval County Sheriff’s Office, Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office, Sierra County Sheriff’s Office, Socorro County Sheriff’s Office, Taos County Sheriff’s Office, Torrance County Sheriff’s Office, Union County Sheriff’s Office, Valencia County Sheriff’s Office, Acoma Pueblo, Cochiti Pueblo, Isleta Pueblo, Jemez Pueblo, Jicarilla Apache Pueblo, Laguna Pueblo, Mescalero Apache Nation, Nambe Pueblo, Navajo Nation, Picuris Pueblo, Pojaque Pueblo, Sandia Pueblo, San Felipe Pueblo, San Ildefonso Pueblo, San Juan Pueblo, Santa Ana Pueblo, Santa Clara Pueblo, Santo Domingo Pueblo, Taos Pueblo, Tesuque Pueblo, Zia Pueblo, Zuni Pueblo, United States Attorney Office, United States Probation Office, Bureau of Indian Affairs, New Mexico Attorney General’s Office, New Mexico District Attorneys’ Offices, New Mexico Department of Public Safety, New Mexico Probation and Parole Office, New Mexico State Police, Albuquerque Police, Farmington Police and Bloomfield Police.

Random operations of this type are conducted throughout the 33 counties and Tribes/Pueblos within New Mexico each year to ensure that offenders convicted of sex crimes which require them to register are in compliance with the Sex Offender Registry. The general public can access the statewide NM Sex Offender Registry at http://www.nmsexoffender.dps.state.nm.us/. In addition, the State of New Mexico will soon be converting to a state wide data base in which state and local jurisdictions will be able to more readily access information relating to registered sex offenders living in different parts of the state. This database will also assist the General Public in being able to quickly search and identify offenders living in their area. The new system will also allow members of the general public to receive email alerts when offenders move into particular areas of interest as well as provide safety tips to better protect you and your family.

United States Marshal Conrad E. Candelaria commented : “At its inception, Operation Complete Clean Up established an overarching mission that centered around two priorities, the first being, maintaining and enhancing the safety of all citizens and especially children in every community within the State of New Mexico, because children should never be victimized. The second priority was the collaboration and coalition building of many law enforcement agencies from multiple jurisdictions for the purpose of holding accountable convicted sexual offenders to ensure their compliance with verification and notification requirements, as required by law. The scope of the operation was complex, with micro operations occurring simultaneously throughout the State of New Mexico and because of the extraordinary leaders of each participating agency, they were the tip of the spear for ensuring the safety of their communities and the Marshals Service for the District of New Mexico was proud to partner with their efforts and accomplishments.”

U.S. Attorney Kenneth J. Gonzales commended U.S. Marshal Conrad Candelaria for spearheading this important operation, and added, “The purpose behind the Adam Walsh Act is to protect the public from sex offenders and offenders against children through effective sex offender registration and notification. But it only works if we are assured that sex offenders are complying with the Act’s registration and notification requirements. Thanks to the U.S. Marshals Service, who led Operation Complete Clean Up, and the numerous agencies that cooperated in the Operation, the citizens of New Mexico have access to important information that will enable them to take measures to make sure that their families and friends are safe.”

Additional information about the U.S. Marshals Service can be found at http://www.usmarshals.gov.

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