A decade ago the Navajo Nation Council passed the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act in an effort to protect children from adult predators.

The current council hopes to amend the act to make it even stronger.

The Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act will force all sex offenders on the Navajo Nation to be registered.

Council unanimously approved the legislation on July 21, sending it to the Law and Order Committee, which would make the final decision. The council vote was 18-0.

The SORNA program operates under the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety in all seven of the public safety police districts. Each district has two designated police officers who are part of the task force.

The SORNA act was created to protect the public on the reservation from convicted sex offenders, who are categorized into Tier I, II and III based on the severity of their crime.

Tier I offenders are required to register for 15 years, Tier II for 25 years and Tier III for life.

“I am thankful that my colleagues have supported the efforts and initiatives of SORNA,” Council Delegate Raymond Smith Jr. said. “This legislation will allow the SORNA program to move forward.”

Smith, who sponsored the legislation, represents the Houck, Klagetoh, Nahata Dziil, Tsé Si áni and Wide Ruins chapters.

SORNA’s task is to ensure all convicted sex offenders who reside, work or attend any schools on the Navajo Nation are registered, according to Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety Sr. Police Officer Pamela Hurley-Vandever.

She is the delegated officer to the SORNA program.

The Navajo Nation currently has 527 sex offenders, according to Hurley-Vandever.

Adam Walsh disappeared from a Florida department store on July 27, 1981, when he was six-years-old. His severed head was later found along the Florida turnpike two weeks later, about 50 miles from where he was abducted.

His father, John Walsh, relentlessly pushed for stricter laws to protect children. The elder Walsh currently hosts “On the Hunt with John Walsh,” a television show that highlights criminals still at large. He was also the host of the popular “America’s Most Wanted” TV show.