Wilmington council delays decision on gun offender registry

A Wilmington city councilman decided on Thursday to delay a vote on a proposed gun offender registry. 

Councilman Bob Williams said before the 6:30 p.m. meeting that some council members said they needed more time to decide. 

The Gun Offender Registration Act would require all Wilmington residents convicted of a gun crime in the state of Delaware to register with the police within 10 days of their release from incarceration and check in with the police department every six months for three years.

Those who don't comply would be subject to fines, which could amount to thousands of dollars over weeks, and/or more jail time, according to the latest version of the ordinance.

"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, at a committee meeting this month. "We have to do something different, some more 21st century policing and using data to target specific offenders." 

The registry would be an internal tool for police, not a list available to the public, according to Williams. 

BACKGROUND: Wilmington councilman proposes gun offender registry, draws criticism

MORE: Wilmington's gun offender registry proposal moves forward

The legislation, which was introduced in June, has received criticism on legal and ethical grounds. 

Individuals 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 latest version of the ordinance states. 

The American Civil Liberties Union opposes the measure, alleging it is unconstitutional. ACLU attorney Ryan Tack-Hooper submitted a letter stating his belief that the legislation would violate the Fifth Amendment, which protects against self-incrimination. He also argued the ordinance gives too much power to the police chief, who he said would effectively have "the power to make criminal law."

Advocates for those reentering society after incarceration also hope the council votes against the registry. Corie Priest works with ex-offenders at the Hope Commission's Achievement Center and said he believes a registry is "a human rights and civil rights issue."

"A lot of folks would get drowned in the system that has already been drug through the system systemically for a long time," he said. 

Police Chief Robert Tracy supports Williams' proposal. The mayor's office said Mayor Mike Purzycki will review council's eventual debate and vote. If it passes, he will then determine whether to sign the bill into law, his office said. 

Some city residents have expressed doubt that the registry would help curb violence in the city where 174 people have been shot this year and 27 were killed by gunfire, News Journal data shows. 

Hilltop resident Nadine Frost told elected officials at Thursday's meeting that the registry will only create unnecessary bureaucracy. She said a registry would not have prevented the actions of Radee Prince, who police say killed three people in Baltimore and shot a Wilmington businessman in the head on Wednesday.

Prince was not a city resident, according to court records, and did not have a history of gun convictions. 

"There's nothing in this ordinance stopping someone like Mr. Prince from killing someone in Wilmington," Frost said. 

Frost, a Libertarian, said there is a lack of data showing registry's reduce gun violence -- only "wishes and hopes." 

"I have a problem with the concept of doing something for the sake of doing something," she said. "It’s like trying to pail out the Titanic with a teacup." 

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