Attorney General Russell A. Suzuki announced today that the national Web Marketing Association awarded the Best Information Services Mobile Application of 2014 to the Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center (HCJDC), a division of the Department of the Attorney General for its “Hawaii Sex Offender Search” mobile app in its annual Mobile Web Awards competition.

In January, HCJDC partnered with Hawaii Information Consortium to create and release Hawaii Sex Offender Search to the Android and Apple App Stores. The mobile app allows users to locate the residence and business addresses of sex offenders and other covered offenders registered with the State of Hawaii, as well as view those offenders that reside or work near the user’s current location. The mobile app also provides users with a photograph of the offender and a list of the crime or crimes for which he or she has been convicted.

“The combined efforts of HCJDC and HIC have a direct and immediate impact on the safety and well-being of Hawaii’s residents,” said General Suzuki. “We are very proud of their efforts and their commitment to fulfilling their mission of ensuring public access to important information.”

Hawaii Sex Offender Search is available for Apple and Android smartphones and mobile devices. Users can access this free application by downloading the app through the Apple or Android App stores. Users without a mobile device can view an online directory of Hawaii registered sex offenders and other covered offenders at sexoffender.ehawaii.gov. Both applications were created in partnership with HIC.

Chapter 846E, Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS), mandates that the HCJDC maintain a central repository of covered offenders in the State of Hawaii. A covered offender is a sex offender or an offender against minors, as defined in Chapter 846E, HRS. Public access to this information is based solely on the fact of each offender’s criminal conviction and is not based on an estimate of the offender’s level of dangerousness.

About eHawaii.gov

Hawaii’s official Internet portal, portal.ehawaii.gov, is managed by Hawaii Information Consortium, LLC, a Hawaii corporation and wholly owned subsidiary of eGovernment firm NIC Inc. HIC works with Hawaii state and county government agencies to enable them to conduct state business online and improve public access to government information.

About NIC

Founded in 1992, NIC (NASDAQ: EGOV) is the nation’s leading provider of official government websites, online services, and secure payment processing solutions. The company’s innovative eGovernment services help make government more accessible to everyone through technology. The family of NIC companies provides eGovernment solutions for more than 3,500 federal, state, and local agencies in the United States. Forbes has named NIC as one of the “100 Best Small Companies in America” five times, most recently ranked at No.11 (2013), and the company has been included four times on the Barron’s 400 Index. Additional information is available at egov.com.