Local officials and residents said they were split over a new Boston Police Department initiative to search the rooms of teenagers suspected of having firearms during a hearing of the Boston City Council Public Safety Committee yesterday.
The Safe Homes Initiative, launched two weeks ago, is sending plainclothes officers to travel in groups of three to specific homes to look for guns in children’s bedrooms, French said. Though police do not need a warrant, they must first gain the consent of a parent or guardian to search a room.
“[The program is] not designed to replace traditional investigations or prosecutions,” said BPD deputy superintendent Gary French. “This program is designed to focus on young kids who are not on our radar screens.”
French said keeping a closer eye on students in school will better enable police to identify who may have guns at home.
Though French said families consenting to a search will not face any criminal charges if a weapon is discovered – unless it is linked to a crime – opponents say those who are unaware of their right to deny a search will be at a disadvantage.
“The truth is, I find what [French] has said somewhat inconsistent,” said American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts staff attorney Sarah Wunsch. “It will certainly be hard to be understood by someone who is not a lawyer, who is not used to dealing with three police officers at their door.”
Councilor Charles Yancey (Dorchester, Mattapan) said the city must educate citizens about their right to refuse the search.
“Residents of Boston deserve respect and they deserve to be free from any hint of intimidation, coercion or even humiliation by having police officers knocking on their doors uninvited,” Yancey said.
Councilor-at-Large Sam Yoon and Councilor Rob Consalvo (Hyde Park, Roslindale) supported the measure.
“Particularly in neighborhoods in my district that are plagued with gun violence, what folks are telling me is that they want more ideas, not less ideas,” Consalvo said. “They want every stone unturned. They want to try everything to see if we can do this.”
Lifelong Roxbury resident Jamal Crawford said he opposed the program and instead favored “deputizing” parents by teaching them to conduct their own searches.
“The community is not being defended by police, but maybe the police are there to kind of watch people and defend one segment of this population against the other,” Crawford said.
Some said the BPD should improve community relations before moving forward with the plan.
“It’s a well-intentioned program, but in the short term, I think it has shortcomings that will strain relations with the Boston Police Department and communities of color,” said Carlos Enriquez of Roxbury.
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