PORTLAND (AP) – The federal government will soon get involved in tracking down sex offenders in Maine who avoid registering with police.

The U.S. Marshals Service in Maine is being trained in the new responsibilities as part of a federal sex offender law passed in July, said John Cooper, the chief deputy U.S. marshal for Maine.

The new law creates a national sex offender database to allow law enforcement and communities to know where convicted sex offenders live and work. It gives the Marshals Service the task of tracking down offenders who dodge their obligations.

“We have resources and databases that local agencies don’t have,” Cooper said.

Maine and other states in recent years have created registries that list people convicted of certain types of sex crimes. The registries are viewed as informational and safety tools for police and the public.

But officials say there are a number of weaknesses in the system.

In Maine, failing to register with local police or the state is a crime, but only a misdemeanor that hasn’t been listed on national databases that alert police to people who are wanted in other states.

Police say another weakness in the system is figuring out who should take the lead in searching for a sex offender who fails to register or report to police as required.

The federal law helps by bringing uniformity to what has been a hodgepodge of different state laws and requirements as well as assigning federal agents to track down unregistered offenders.

“One of our biggest concerns is if someone moves from Portland, we don’t know where they go,” said Portland police Lt. Vern Malloch.

The new law, the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006, is named for Adam Walsh, who was kidnapped in 1981 from a Florida mall when he was 6 years old and whose remains were found 100 miles away two weeks later. His father, John Walsh, has been an advocate for child safety legislation and hosts the TV program “America’s Most Wanted.”

Cooper said the Marshals Service is suited to the task of finding sex offenders who don’t register because of its ability in finding fugitives.

The Marshals Service also has lent its expertise to the Center for Missing and Exploited Children to help find at-risk youths.

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Information from: Portland Press Herald, http://www.pressherald.com

AP-ES-11-27-06 1035EST

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