VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – Volusia County has introduced what officials describe as Florida’s first searchable online database of domestic violence offenders, giving residents another resource for making informed decisions about the people they invite into their homes and lives.
The live registry is linked directly to the county court system and will include anyone convicted of a domestic or dating violence offense in a Volusia County courthouse during the past 10 years.
[GET HELP: Find programs for domestic violence survivors across Central Florida]
Volusia County Councilman Matt Reinhart proposed the database. He said its value goes beyond helping people evaluate potential romantic partners.
“We have a very large elderly community here in Volusia County, and unfortunately, not everybody is equipped with the financial means to put them into residential treatment or something,” Reinhart said. “They have to involve individuals coming into their home. Wouldn’t you want to know if those individuals had a propensity to violence?”
Emma Sanders, an advocate for domestic violence survivors, said the registry could make a major difference, even if it ultimately helps just one person.
“It’s not the answer to everyone’s problem, but an answer to someone’s problem,” Sanders said. “And the goal is to, even if we just reach one, then we’ve done our job.”
Sanders said access to that information can help people decide how to respond when they encounter someone listed in the database.
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“So I have informed decision-making choices and my ‘what to do next’ if I come across this person in my everyday life,” Sanders said.
The registry is available through the Volusia County government website HERE. It contains offenders’ names, booking photos and associated court cases, but no information identifying victims.
Reinhart stressed that the database lists convictions, not arrests.
“The database will receive information on Volusia County convictions only,” Reinhart said. “So someone is convicted of domestic violence or anything under that relevant statute. They will go into that database once they’re convicted, not arrested but convicted. And it is one conviction.”
County officials characterize the registry as an additional way to view public records, not a guarantee of how a person may behave today. Sanders said she hopes the approach is adopted in other counties.
“It should be everywhere, because then you can’t escape from one county to the next,” Sanders said.
Reinhart said county officials are already working with state leaders interested in expanding the database across Florida within the next year.
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