MA- Bill would create registry for drug dealers

I fully support this idea as it will totally overwhelm the police so that no more criminals can be caught; cuts down on court cases too. Lets do this. Oh, the problem is -if every drug conviction was FORCED to register- we would see some lawmakers on it now wouldn't we? What the heck, according to lawmaker logic, registries make the public safer; go for it!

5-29-2009 Massachusetts:

Convicted drug dealers could join rapists and other sex offenders on the list of criminals forced to register with the state if a bill sponsored by a Cape Cod lawmaker gains support on Beacon Hill.

State Rep. Demetrius Atsalis, D-Hyannis, has filed legislation seeking to create a drug offender registry, similar to the state's sex offender listings, to help identify and track convicted drug dealers throughout the state.

The proposed registry, which would include all convictions for distribution, trafficking or possession of drugs with intent to distribute, is intended to alert residents to drug dealers in their community, while providing police with a useful tool to combat drug use and drug-related violence, Atsalis said yesterday.

"While we know what sex offenders are in our neighborhoods, we don't know what drug offenders are (coming in)," he said. "And in a lot of ways drug offenders are just as bad. ... They bring some dangerous people into our neighborhoods."

But the legislation, which will now go to Beacon Hill for consideration in the state House of Representatives, could also make it harder for some drug dealers to reform their ways, some critics said.

Such registries — Minnesota, Tennessee and several other states have launched methamphetamine databases — often stigmatize reformed drug dealers, making it more difficult for them to find employment and housing as they look to rehabilitate, said Ann Lambert, legislative counsel to the Massachusetts branch of the American Civil Liberties Union.

In 2008, Cape Cod police departments made 814 arrests for drug-related crimes, including possession, distribution and other crimes, according to the Cape and Islands District Attorney's Office.

"What it's talking about is branding forever people who are substance abusers," Lambert said. "There are large numbers of them that are amenable to treatment."

Modeled after the state sex offender registry, Atsalis' proposal would require convicted drug offenders to report their name and personal information to local authorities, as well as to the registry's five-member governing board upon moving to a new city or town.

It would divide the registrants into a tiered system based on the severity of their crime: Level 1 offenders, those considered unlikely to repeat an offense, would be registered to an internal database available to law enforcement authorities; the names of Level 2 offenders, those considered somewhat likely to repeat, would be available only through inquiries to the state or local police; and Level 3 offenders, considered high risk to repeat, would each be listed on a public Internet database.

The program would be self-funded through registration fees paid by registrants, Atsalis said.

The registry could prove to be a useful tool both for residents who want to protect the safety of their neighborhood and to police conducting investigations, police officers said.

It could help ensure police safety as officers respond to calls and it could cut down on the length of investigations, providing officers with easy access to information, according to Barnstable police Sgt. Michael Clark, who helped Atsalis develop the bill.

"Oftentimes we'll respond to calls and not realize who's residing at a particular residence," Clark said. "We'll respond to a scene and then go back to the station ... and realize they have long criminal records."

To the public, this information could prove more alarming than helpful, some critics said.

"What are people going to do with this information?" David Rossman, director of Boston University's Criminal Law Clinical Programs asked. "In what way would this help the public as opposed to hurt people who might have at one point had a drug problem? ... I don't see what good this would cause." ..News Source.. by Jake Berry