Wilmington's gun offender registry proposal moves forward

• Councilman Bob Williams softened punishments detailed in an earlier proposal.
• The councilman said implementation would not cost anything.

A Wilmington City Council proposal to create a registry for gun offenders, similar in concept to the sex offender registry, is moving forward after being tabled over the summer amid concerns. 

The Gun Offender Registry Act, sponsored by Councilman Bob Williams, would require all Wilmington residents convicted of gun crimes in the state of Delaware to register with the city police department within 10 days of their release. Those who fail to do so could face thousands of dollars in fines and could go back to prison. 

"We're breaking (shooting) records left and right," Williams said. "The police department needs a tracking system." 

Council will vote on the proposal at its Oct. 19 meeting. 

If enacted, the law would require registrants to be photographed, periodically verify personal information, and provide notification of change of address for a period of three years. If the individual commits another gun crime, the three-year term would start again. 

The registry would be an internal tool for police and would not be shared with the public to avoid stigmatizing registrants seeking employment, Williams said. 

The original proposal carried a penalty of up to 1 year in prison and/or up to $1,000 fine for offenders who don't check in with police on time — and each day past the deadline was an additional offense with additional penalties. 

Over the summer, council members — including Vash Turner, Hanifa Shabazz, Zanthia Oliver and Ciro Adams — and members of the public expressed concern that the punishment was too harsh and put an undue burden on people who had already served their time. 

In the latest version of the legislation, violations are now counted in the weeks an individual fails to register, not days.

STORY: Wilmington councilman proposes gun offender registry, draws criticism

MORE COVERAGE: Wilmington gun offender registry put on hold amid concerns

According to the legislation, those who fail to register would be guilty of a misdemeanor and could face fines between $250 and $1,000 the first week, between $500 and $2,500 the second week, $1,000 to $5,000 the third week, $1,500 the fourth week and at least $5,000 the fifth week. Instead of, or in addition to, the fines, a person who violates registry requirements could be jailed for up to a year, the ordinance states. 

For those who violate the registry's rules, a court could order the defendant to comply by a certain date, the ordinance states. If the person still fails to correct the violation, the court can impose a $50-per-day fine until the individual complies, the ordinance states. 

The initial ordinance required a check-in within two days of release, but an updated version increased it to 10 days.

The proposal comes amid record gun violence in Wilmington. One hundred sixty-eight people have been shot in the city so far this year, more than any other year in modern history, and 26 have been killed by gunfire, according to records maintained by The News Journal. 

"We’re doing focused patrols, we’re doing redeployment strategies, we’re doing CompStat, and our numbers continue to rise," said Williams, a 20-year veteran of the Wilmington Police Department. "We have to do something different, some more 21st century policing and using data to target specific offenders." 

Williams believes the registry, which was pioneered in New York City, could help deter offenders from engaging in gun crimes. It could also be a tool for the police department in "focused deterrence," using meetings to communicate with offenders about the risks of their behavior and connecting them with resources. 

"It would present an opportunity for dialogue," Williams said. "It's to promote positive behavior." 

Police Chief Robert Tracy supports the legislation. 

"We’ve arrested over 180 gun offenders this year," he said on Monday. "About half of them have prior weapons offenses ... . What we’re trying to do is preventing them from picking up a firearm again."

Williams' proposal, which is co-sponsored by public safety chair Loretta Walsh, has received criticism.

The American Civil Liberties Union submitted a letter to council on Monday opposing the measure.

ACLU attorney Ryan Tack-Hooper wrote there are constitutional questions about requiring registrants to provide "a description of the crime for which the gun offender was convicted" plus "any other information required by the rules and regulations adopted by the Police Chief under this Act." 

Such a requirement could violate the Fifth Amendment, which protects against self-incrimination, according to Tack-Hooper. 

The police chief's level of discretion is also legally questionable regarding separation of powers and due process, according to Tack-Hooper, who said it effectively gives the police chief "the power to make criminal law."

Those who have worked with offenders re-entering society say a registry adds another obstacle to rebuilding lives after incarceration. 

"I firmly believe this is a human rights and civil rights issue," said Corie Priest, who works at the Hope Commission's Achievement Center, at Monday's public safety committee meeting. "A lot of folks would get drowned in the system that have already been drug through the system systemically for a long time." 

Several council members at Monday's meeting expressed support for the measure. 

"I don't know if this will be successful in Wilmington or not, but I think we’d be foolish not to try," said Councilman Bud Freel. "What do we have to lose?" 

Councilman Ciro Adams opposed the idea, calling it "feel good" legislation with "draconian" penalties. 

"How would this ordinance have prevented any of the shootings that happened in the past month?" he asked.

There is little scientific research on the effect gun offender registries have on recidivism. One study in Baltimore suggests they can help, at least with possession cases. 

A review comparing 106 registrants in 2008, the year Baltimore started its registry, with 53 individuals convicted of similar crimes the prior year indicated that those on the registry had a reduced risk of re-offending, according to the study's author, Daniel W. Webster, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research. 

"To me, the differences were quite striking, quite substantial," he said of the study, which analyzed data from 2008 to 2013. 

Fifteen percent of those in the non-registry group were re-arrested for a violent offense, Webster said, and about 7.6 percent of the registrants re-offended. Regarding repeat gun offenses, 13.2 percent of the non-registry group were re-arrested, whereas only 2.8 percent of registrants were re-arrested. 

But the study was limited, Webster acknowledges. Researchers collected data only from misdemeanor gun possession cases, Webster said, not felony cases. 

"They might be behind bars for a number of years, so they’re not necessarily in the population that we were able to follow," Webster said of felony cases.

"I recognize there could be other things that explain this," Webster said. "Precisely how much was due to the registry versus other things going on the city, I don't know with certainty."

One unexpected finding in Webster's research is that a lot of people who were charged with "the most serious acts with guns" were not being convicted of gun crimes because of plea bargains.

"There were commonly plea deals in which someone said: I will plead guilty to aggravated assault but you drop the gun charge," Webster said. 

Ultimately, Webster said a registry will need to be used in conjunction with other tools.

"It’s not a magical thing that is going to dramatically reduce Wilmington's rate of gun violence, but I do think it's an effective deterrent for some." 

Contact Christina Jedra at cjedra@delawareonline.com, (302) 324-2837 or on Twitter @ChristinaJedra.