The Essex County Prosecutor's Office established its Megan's Law Unit in January of 1995 in response to state legislation designed to protect potential victims from convicted sex offenders. The law is named after a seven year old girl who was sexually assaulted and murdered by a neighbor recidivist. Simply put, the promise of Megan's Law is that if people know about a sex offender's presence in their community, the better able they are to safeguard against potential victimization.

The Unit is responsible for evaluating whether or not a convicted sex offender is at risk of committing a new sex offense. These evaluations are made in accordance with guidelines established by the Attorney General's Office and are triggered when a sex offender is released from prison or sentenced to probation. The seriousness of the offender's past conviction(s), their offense history, their personal characteristics, and their community support are all analyzed. Additionally, these reviews may include an evaluation of the offender's prison records, school and employment records, and conduct while under parole or probation. Upon completion of this process, a report is compiled establishing a risk level. After notice to the offender, a hearing is held (on Tier 2 and Tier 3 cases, i.e. the more serious cases) before a judge who makes the final determination of the offender's status. Depending upon the tier level, school and/or community notification may be initiated. Additionally, recent changes in the Megan's Law statute effective January 1, 2002 have added sex offender notification of some offenders to the Internet.

There are three types of Tier classifications. Tier 1 offenders are deemed low-risk and notification on them is limited to the police departments where the offender lives and/or works and the N.J. State Police. Tier 2 offenders are considered moderate-risk and notification on them is sent to all schools, day-care centers, women's shelters and registered community organizations within an area where the offender is "likely to encounter" potential victims. Tier 3 offenders are considered high risk and all residences, businesses, schools, day care centers, women's shelters and registered community organizations within the offender's "likely to encounter" zone are given notice. The court determines the geographic scope of notification and the types of institutions to be notified in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cases. Local law enforcement agencies and the State Police also receive notice in these cases.

With respect to Internet cases, all Tier 3 offenders and certain Tier 2 offenders are Internet eligible. As previously mentioned, all Tier 2 and Tier 3 offenders are entitled to a judicial hearing and it is the judge who makes the final determination of whether or not an offender will be listed on the Internet and/or some type of community notification will be made. If the court rules that a case is Internet eligible, the offender's name, county of residence, date of birth, physical attributes, type of conviction, modus operandi and photograph will be published. His street address and the municipality in which he lives will NOT be included. In addition to Internet notification, community notification will also be ordered according to the "likely to encounter" standard. If the court rules that an offender is not eligible for the Internet but still finds that they are a Tier 2 or Tier 3 offender, then notification will proceed as outlined above.

The Essex County Megan's Law Unit is the most active Megan's Unit in the State. As of January 1, 2006 the Essex County Prosecutor's Office Megan's Law Unit had a total of 2,108 cases. 1,322 of these cases were considered active, meaning the sex offender has registered in Essex County and the New Jersey State Police have received a copy of his or her print card. The remaining files fall into various categories such as transferred, registered in another state or county, out of registration, non-Megan's offender or deceased. Because of the transient nature of the sex offender population, very few Megan's Law cases can be considered permanently "closed." The closing of a file only occurs in cases where a registrant dies, relocates permanently to another county or state, or is deported. Additionally, every time a sex offender moves within the county, he or she is entitled to a new court hearing. Thus, the overall number of files handled by the Unit increases yearly even if the sex offender has been assigned a final Tier designation.

The Unit has ten full-time employees: four assistant prosecutors, three investigators, and three support staff. For questions and answers regarding the details of Megan's Law, see Frequently Asked Questions.