In other cities, violent gun felons are released by the court system and allowed to disappear back into the alleyways and dark corners that spawned them, but here in New York, we keep them fixed firmly in the spotlight of the law. Now it’s time to shine that light statewide.
Back in 2006, Mayor Bloomberg, Speaker Christine Quinn and I spearheaded an important anti-crime innovation — keeping track of gun offenders who’ve done their time. And Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. recently suggested a statewide expansion.
Statistics show that 30 percent of all shootings in the city have been committed by a small group of offenders, mostly members of youth gangs. To keep their whereabouts known to the police, that 2006 law created the first registry of convicted gun offenders; it’s since been copied in Baltimore, Chicago and Washington DC, among others.
The law requires ex-cons who were convicted of certain gun crimes to register their addresses with the police for four years after their release from prison. They must verify them in person every six months and promptly notify the police if they change addresses.
Some dangerous felons have gone back to prison for failing to comply with these guidelines, with 11 arrests in 2012 alone for not registering.
Quite frankly, this registry is a simple and effective way for the NYPD to keep track of our most violent criminals.
Numerous studies have shown very high rates of recidivism among those convicted of illegal gun possession, and city statistics indicate that those convicted of felony gun possession are more likely than other felons to be re-arrested after leaving prison. And 42 percent of those re-arrests were likely to be on violent charges, vs. 25 percent for those not convicted of gun crimes. Gun offenders were also four times more likely to be arrested for homicide.
As of December, there were 595 gun offenders in New York City “eligible” under this law; 302 of them were back in jail.
Recently, Diaz proposed expanding the registry to cover not just the city, but the whole state, and to make it available to the public online. I’m now working with him on this plan.
I am drafting city legislation calling on the Legislature to create a statewide gun-offender registry, providing police across New York with one of the resources the NYPD and Commissioner Ray Kelly have used to bring murders in the city to the lowest recorded number in history.
But we don’t have to wait for Albany to act. Diaz and I are drafting a bill to make the existing city registry public, and posted online. The idea has advantages and deserves to be discussed. Rather than publicly displaying the names of legal gun owners who haven’t broken the law — as a Westchester paper recently did — why not alert people to potentially dangerous criminals in their communities?
New York City is the safest big city in America, in part because our registry allows the police to shine a light on gun offenders. It’s time for the Legislature to follow in the city’s footsteps by providing police across the state with this common-sense crime-fighting tool. Shine a light on gun offenders so the most violent criminals can’t slip unnoticed back into the shadows.
Peter F. Vallone (D-Queens) chairs the City Council’s Public Safety Committee.