Find Sex Offenders in Williamsburg
The Virginia State Police sex offender registry for Williamsburg is free to use and open to any member of the public. Williamsburg has approximately 30 to 40 registered sex offenders, a figure that reflects the city's smaller population relative to other Virginia cities. This page covers how to search the registry, what local agencies do, and how Virginia's registration law applies to offenders who live, work, or attend school in Williamsburg, including those associated with William and Mary.
Williamsburg Overview
Searching Williamsburg Sex Offender Records
The Virginia Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registry is the official database. Find it at sex-offender.vsp.virginia.gov/sor or use the alternate portal at vspsor.com. Both connect to the same Virginia State Police database and are free with no login required. Williamsburg zip codes include 23185, 23186, 23187, and 23188. Searching any of these will show offenders registered in the city.
Results include the offender's current registered address, a photo if available, date of birth, physical description, and the qualifying offense. The registry supports free email alerts. You can set up a notification for any address, and the system will send you an email when an offender registers or updates information near that location. This is useful for parents and residents who want to track changes in a specific part of the city without checking the website repeatedly.
The National Sex Offender Public Website covers Virginia and every other state registry in one search. Use it when you need to check whether someone has a registration history in a state other than Virginia before they moved to the Williamsburg area.
Williamsburg sex offender registry records are available through the Virginia State Police portal using zip codes 23185 through 23188.
Williamsburg Police Department
The Williamsburg Police Department is at 425 Armistead Avenue, Williamsburg, VA 23185. The non-emergency line is (757) 220-2331. Chief Sean D. Dunn leads the department. The Investigations Division handles sex crime cases and works with the Virginia State Police to monitor registered offenders in the city. Officers carry out address verification checks and report any discrepancies or suspected violations.
The Records Section processes incident reports and FOIA requests. Background check services are available through the department as well. Williamsburg coordinates with the James City County Sheriff's Office for matters that cross into the surrounding county. The department also works closely with William and Mary's campus police on cases that involve the university.
More contact information for the Williamsburg Police Department and related agencies in the area is listed at the William and Mary Police resource directory, which is available at wm.edu/offices/police/resourcedirectory. That page includes direct contacts for the Williamsburg Police, James City County Police, and York County Sheriff. A 24-hour help line for sexual assault victims is also listed: (757) 258-5051.
The Williamsburg Police Department at 425 Armistead Avenue handles sex offender compliance for the city in coordination with James City County Sheriff's Office and Virginia State Police.
Williamsburg Sheriff's Office
The Williamsburg Sheriff's Office is at 401 Lafayette Street, Williamsburg, VA 23185. The office can be reached at (757) 565-6317. The Sheriff's Office provides court security for the Williamsburg Circuit Court and handles civil process services. Sex offender registration for individuals released from custody in Williamsburg is coordinated through the Sheriff's Office in cooperation with the Virginia State Police.
A second Sheriff's Office contact, at 5201 Monticello Avenue, Unit 5, Williamsburg, VA 23188, handles additional administrative services. The phone numbers (757) 564-2220 and (757) 820-3900 both connect to Sheriff's Office operations. More information is at williamsburgva.gov/sheriffs-office.
William and Mary Campus and Registry Compliance
William and Mary's Annual Security Report addresses the Campus Sex Crimes Prevention Act and Virginia's sex offender registry requirements. Under that federal law, sex offenders who are enrolled in or employed by an institution of higher education must register with state authorities. Virginia State Police maintains the registry, and the university links to it through the Virginia State Police website. The registry is available to the campus community under Virginia Code Section 19.2-390.1, which authorizes public use of the data for personal safety and crime prevention purposes.
Using registry information to harass or intimidate an offender is against Virginia law and constitutes a Class 1 misdemeanor. Registry data is intended for public safety, not for targeting individuals. The full Annual Security Report, which includes campus sex crime statistics and prevention resources, is available at wm.edu.
Note: Students, faculty, and staff at William and Mary who are subject to Virginia's sex offender registration law must comply with state requirements even when living on campus or in university-owned housing.
Virginia Sex Offender Registration Requirements
Virginia's registration law is in Virginia Code Title 9.1, Chapter 9. Tier I offenders verify in person once per year for 15 years. Tier II offenders verify annually for 25 years. Tier III offenders verify every 90 days for life. Every covered person must register within three days of sentencing or release, appear in person, submit a current photo, and confirm home address, work address, and any school enrollment.
Address changes must be reported within three days. Internet identifiers, including email and social media accounts, must be updated within 30 minutes of any change. Failure to register or comply is a Class 1 misdemeanor for Tier I and Tier II offenders and a Class 6 felony for Tier III. Offenders in Williamsburg are also subject to residency restrictions that bar them from living within 500 feet of schools, daycares, and parks. The statute is also available through law.justia.com.
State Police Contact
The Virginia State Police operates the registry and can be reached at (804) 674-2825 or sor.vsp@vsp.virginia.gov. Report suspected violations or ask about registration status through these channels. VSP oversees non-compliance investigations and works with Williamsburg police and the Sheriff's Office on enforcement. Formal background checks beyond the free public registry are available through VSP Criminal Justice Information Services for a fee.
County Information
Williamsburg is surrounded by James City County, which maintains separate court and law enforcement records for the adjacent unincorporated area and coordinates with Williamsburg on cross-jurisdictional cases.
Nearby Virginia Cities
Other cities in the Historic Triangle and Peninsula region with sex offender registry information are listed below.
Registry Use and Public Safety
Virginia law makes sex offender registry information available to the public to help protect communities. You can use the registry to check if an offender lives near your home, school, or workplace. The National Sex Offender Public Website at nsopw.gov also lets you search across all states at once. This is useful when checking on someone who may have moved to Virginia from out of state. The Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services at dcjs.virginia.gov has more information about the registry program and community safety resources available to local agencies.
Note: Registry information is for public safety purposes only. Using it to harass or intimidate an offender is prohibited under Virginia law and can result in criminal charges.