Operation Angel Watch is an intelligence-driven program targeting American registered sex offenders traveling abroad who the
Department of Homeland Security
The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior or home ministries of other countries. Its stated missions involve anti-terr ...
's
Immigration and Customs Enforcement
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is a federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. ICE's stated mission is to protect the United States from the cross-border crime and illegal immigration tha ...
department (ICE) believes are likely to engage in
child sex tourism
Child sex tourism (CST) is tourism for the purpose of engaging in the prostitution of children, which is commercially facilitated child sexual abuse. The definition of '' child'' in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is "ev ...
. By evaluating patterns and trends, ICE identifies high risk countries to compare with the travel plans of persons included in
sex offender registry
A sex offender registry is a system in various countries designed to allow government authorities to keep track of the activities of sex offenders, including those who have completed their criminal sentences. In some jurisdictions, registration i ...
. Since the inception Operation Angel Watch, nearly 300 suspected CST perpetrators have been identified.
In 2007, Angel Watch sent 1,700 leads to 100 countries.
The 2014 bill to establish the Angel Watch Center was described as an "
International Megan's Law". A 2010
Government Accountability Office
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is a legislative branch government agency that provides auditing, evaluative, and investigative services for the United States Congress. It is the supreme audit institution of the federal govern ...
report had found that at least 4,500 U.S. passports were issued to registered sex offenders in fiscal year 2008. Congressman
Chris Smith noted, "The goal is reciprocal notice between countries."
Participating Countries
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United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
- June 25, 2015 the UK's
National Crime Agency
The National Crime Agency (NCA) is a national law enforcement agency in the United Kingdom. It is the UK's lead agency against organised crime; human, weapon and drug trafficking; cybercrime; and economic crime that goes across regional and in ...
(NCA) signed an official agreement to recipocally to share information about the transnational travel of convicted sex offenders between the two countries. The stated purpose of the agreement is to: "The information is to be used for the purposes of enhancing the interdiction or investigation of these convicted child sex offenders, as well as making informed decisions regarding their admittance to the respective countries."
Incidents
In 2007,
Howard Cotterman's computer was subjected to a
forensic
Forensic science, also known as criminalistics, is the application of science to Criminal law, criminal and Civil law (legal system), civil laws, mainly—on the criminal side—during criminal investigation, as governed by the legal standard ...
evaluation after his name came up as flagged by
TECS
TECS, formerly known as the Treasury Enforcement Communications System, is used by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to manage the flow of people through border ports of entry and for immigration enforcement case management. It keeps track ...
pursuant to Operation Angel Watch.
Statistics
In fiscal year 2014, ICE provided notice of travel from the U.S. of approximately 2,300 convicted child sex offenders to over 120 countries.
See also
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Operation Predator
References
{{reflist
Sex offender registration
Angel Watch