ALBANY - Legislation to better protect New Yorkers from sexual offenders was signed Thursday by Governor Andrew Cuomo. This legislation complements reforms already implemented by the administration which strengthen the state's civil confinement procedures and better detect the risk of recidivism among sex offenders.

“These new laws, coupled with our comprehensive reforms, will better protect the public against sex offenders,” Governor Cuomo said. “These changes will ensure that offenders are carefully tracked with the goal of keeping sex offenders off the street when they pose a threat to society, as well as giving the, the opportunity to receive better treatment if they are able to live in the community without re-offending. I thank the sponsors of this legislation for joining with us to strengthen these procedures and helping to keep New York safe.”

The first bill authorizes law enforcement officials to update the photographs of high-risk sexual offenders every 90 days or if the offender’s appearance has changed, depending on which comes sooner. These photos will also be sent to the sex offender registry for use by the public and law enforcement. Currently, these high-risk offenders must submit a photograph only once a year.

This bill will help police to apprehend criminals in the event that they repeat their crimes or flee from supervision by ensuring that officers have all the tools they need to identify them. This bill will take effect in 30 days.

The second piece of legislation signed today requires the Board of Parole to record and write down a transcript of the release interviews for detained sex offenders. These records will be provided to the Office of Mental Health (OMH) and the Office of the Attorney General for use in determining whether to seek a civil confinement hearing for an offender.

This bill will help make informed judgments about the risk posed by sexual offenders, and it will also take effect in 30 days.