Posted on 11/22/2006 10:00:09 AM PST by kiriath_jearim
FREDERICK -- Police chiefs across the country are working to create a database similar to a sex offender registry that would track criminals convicted of violent crimes involving guns.
The database would include the name, address, vehicle description, physical description and history of anyone convicted of firearms violations -- such as a felon in possession of a handgun or carrying a concealed weapon -- or who has used a gun in commission of a violent crime.
The Firearms Committee of the International Association of Chiefs of Police approved a resolution in October to present state authorities and Congress with requests for legislation and funding to begin registering offenders, said Joe Vince, criminal justice professor at Mount St. Mary's University and member of the IACP firearms committee.
"The recidivism rate for firearms offenders is higher than that of sexual predators," he said. "If we have a registry for sex offenders, why not have one for firearms?"
Not only would officers have a wealth of information to pull from -- and cross-reference -- when investigating armed robberies and other crimes, but the database would increase officer safety by alerting them to an offender's status, Mr. Vince said.
Police now scan driver's licenses to find out if a person is wanted or their license is expired. The registry would enable dispatchers to alert officers if a suspect has been known to carry a gun, he said. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is coordinating with other cities and states to draft legislation for the database, Mr. Vince said. Each police department runs wanted checks differently, so planning is needed to figure out how each can best can incorporate the data into their records.
Available resources and their shortcomings
ETrace, a database kept by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, lets officers quickly track the ownership history of a seized gun using the serial number.
"When you search for a gun in the BATF database, you don't always know where it's been, but you can see when and where it was bought, which can sometimes be pretty helpful," said Bill Douwes, crime analyst for the Frederick Police Department.
However, guns used to commit crimes often aren't registered or the serial number is scratched off, and the database doesn't give any information about the person who might have used that gun in a crime. If a crime gun was stolen or bought off the street, it likely won't show up in a search, Mr. Vince said.
The 1998 Brady Act requires dealers to check the background of anyone trying to buy a gun to see if that person is prohibited from owning one (i.e., convicted of a felony). However, some states don't require all private gun dealers to do background checks. Maryland requires the checks for all sales, public or private.
"People advertise, 'Buy from me, no background checks,'" Mr. Vince said. "And courts are so far behind in reporting the information É we don't have the ability to do anything ahead of time."
Mr. Vince's goal, and that of others who support the database, is to centralize the information so it can benefit the most people. The federal government doesn't allow state and local police agencies to share data among themselves. Each state has access to information it has entered, but if a suspect was involved in a crime in another state, officials have no way of finding out.
"Before 9-11 people were complaining (the government) wasn't giving law enforcement the tools to connect the dots. Now they're taking the dots off the page," Mr. Vince said.
With the proposed registry, state and local police could establish connections by plugging in descriptions and addresses in crime reports. Repeated information and similarities would lead officers to gangs and drug or weapon trafficking rings, he said.
"From an investigatory standpoint, I think that would be very helpful," Mr. Douwes said. "The problem is there are just so many guns. (Police) are looking for ways to make analysis and investigation work, given so many guns."
Frederick law enforcement agencies send guns seized as evidence to the Maryland State Police crime lab in Pikesville for analysis. As the only in-depth forensics lab in the state, the MSP lab is overwhelmed, he said.
A registry with offenders' photos also could act as an unofficial lineup for victims to help identify suspects.
"It's not probable cause for a warrant, but if (a victim) identifies someone's photo it's sufficient cause to question them," Mr. Vince said.
California and Minnesota are among the first states taking active steps toward creating an offender registry.
"I can't believe anyone would be opposed to this," Mr. Vince said. "The potential for violence with a firearm is so much greater than any other weapon É We have to stop investigating bodies and do more intervention and prevention."
...because we all know that a murder victim who dies from a gunshot is deader than one who is stabbed or beat with a baseball bat. Their families mourn more deeply than those of victims who are strangled, poisoned or decapitated.
Clearly, then, keeping track of guns will make violent crime stop.
Sheesh! Do these people ever stop and listen to just how ridiculous they sound?
Wow!! Who came up with the idea of dealing with THOSE WHO COMMIT CRIMES WITH GUNS instead of trying to regulate those who don't commit gun crimes? What a brilliant idea.
The problem I see is that when possessing a gun is a crime, an otherwise non-criminal commits a gun crime by having one. That makes him inelegible to have one anywhere else!
SELECT * FROM criminal_database.crimes_table WHERE CONTAINS(crime_description, '"firearm","gun"')
You're correct. But the article makes it plain that their true agenda has nothing to do with crime, but with guns.
Too many people not only equate guns with crime, they denigrate guns as being more worrisome than crime.
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