Door to door searches underway in D.C.

[Smokewagon]

Aaaahhh! The future of Amerika...

[dukesean]

Or four: Don't answer your door.

Or one finger

[WarHawk-AVG]

At least its "voluntary" for now

I wonder if you tell the LEO to take a hike if you get put on a "hit here 1st" list?

WOW...more and more uggh by the minute

[G.A. Heath]

I wonder if we are only a few steps from where they will consider refusal as grounds for "probably cause" or such. If/when we get to that point they may need to check your home if no one answers because you may be laying in a pool of blood from where that evil gun killed you since you didn't use it to kill somebody...

ok time to go polish my tin foil hat since the black helicopters have moved off...

but in all honesty this deserves some kinda of legal action to stop it.

[thankGod]

This is very scary stuff. It is hard to believe that their District Attorney would allow this kind intrusion to individual privacy.

It is hard to believe that anyone would let the police seize and destroy their weapons just because they had a knock at the door.

Scream, "SEARCH WARRANT"

[locknload]

Now, let me get this straight. We can't get rid of illegals, because they have rights, you know. We can't wire-tap terrorists, because they have rights, too. But the DC Police can go door to door and confiscate guns from law-abiding citizens? First, gun confiscation in New Orleans, now DC. What is this country coming to?

[bpet]

I refuse to live someplace where I feel un-wanted.

I guess after telling them to take a hike and then getting caught relocating my gun to someplace other than my home, I would probably be "wanted".

I think I'd move anyway.

Those people are just too crazy to be around especially if you consider the power they wield.

[anygunanywhere]

Give them the bullets first, baby, bullets first.

Whenever anyone mentions confiscation around you, ask them whose son or daughter they will send to confiscate them. Remind them that some will not hand them over willingly.

We are not all sheep. Some of us bite. Hard.

Those in charge will never place themselves in harm's way. Kind of like Bin Laden. They always send someone to do the dirty work.

Cowards. Tyrannists. Thieves. Evil.

Anygunanywhere

[WildBill]

This is too scary to comprehend.

[sbb]

Isn't there a provision in the bill of rights that limits unreasonable searches and siezures? Ooooooh, I forgot this is DC, they already violate the 2nd ammendment.

[tarkus]

Why are you guys upset? It's just another "reasonable restriction" on civil rights.

[CHL/LEO]

They must have gotten this idea from Janet Reno.

Or from New Orleans. Except in N.O. I'm not sure they knocked - other than knocking the doors down when no one answered and then proceeding to take every weapon they could find. I know one thing - if my department had sent me down there to help out during Katrina, and the people in charge would have sent me out on some type of witch hunt like they had, I would have refused to go along with it. Or if they put me in charge of a team of like minded LEOs we would have come back empty handed - "Gee chief, every house we searched didn't have one single gun. We'll try harder tomorrow."

This is very scary stuff. It is hard to believe that their District Attorney would allow this kind intrusion to individual privacy.

We do the same thing here in Dallas... and have been for several years. It's called "knock and talk" community policing and it's held up to court challenges. A team of officers (6 to 12) goes into a crime ridden apartment complex where the management or neighborhood watch group has requested our help to run off the hoodlums. We know which specific apartments are causing the problem and we "knock and talk" to those occupants. The contact officer follows a very detailed script that has been approved by City & County attorneys, and that has also held up to court challenges. The entire conversation is recorded to prevent all of the "he said, she said" controversy.

I am constantly stunned by the idiots that always let us in and then pretend that they're shocked when we find all the guns, drugs, and other contraband. Guns alone are not an issue but most of the people we find in these places are felons and they cannot posses them. I guess in a way it's not surprising though - these people aren't the brightest bulbs on the strand - that's why the live the life of crime that they do. We even had one moron that had been arrested several times during these operations tell us, "My attorney keeps telling me not to let you guys come in and I won't keep getting arrested so much." When asked why he let us in he said, "I don't know - I guess I'm just stupid." I don't recall anyone arguing with him about that point.

It really doesn't matter whether you agree or not with the law regarding warrant-less searches. What really matters is all the innocent law abiding people that live in these complexes and neighborhoods and are at their wits end in dealing with the criminals that live around them. When they call us they beg us to do something to help them out so that they and their kids don't have to be surrounded by these thugs and open criminal activities. We constantly try and come up with options to deal with it and these "knock and talks" have helped some.

Lots of people I share this with find it hard to believe that there are areas of crime infestation like this. They can't relate to it because they've never been exposed to it, or if they were, they would just move away before it got to be this bad of a situation. I know I would (and have) done exactly that over the years.

In conclusion, if the police came to my door and asked to search my house I would ask them why they wanted to (just to find out what their reason was - what was causing this level of police activity that probably was costing their department a lot of money) and then tell them nope, but to have a nice and safe day - end of conversation (at least on my part). I've found that most people (at least the law abiding ones) are fine with why the police are conducting these operations once you take the time to tell them the reason why. Understandably people get concerned when they see a large team of heavily armed (several member usually have AR15s or shotguns with them - we've been shot from doorways and windows as we walk through these complexes) officers walking through their apartments. They usually are concerned that we're looking for some murderer or carjacker but calm down once we tell them what we're doing. Heck, they'll even point out additional apartments we need to focus on because of their specific knowledge of criminal activity that's occurring there.

Anyway - just me 2¢s worth on this topic.

[gregthehand]

I'm right behind CHL/LEO. We did these in Montgomery County and I know they do them in Harris County too. The reasoning usually goes something like "Gee some of your neighbors are saying your dealing drugs. Why don't you let me look around so we can prove to them your not and this can all go away." I knew one guy that was on a team that did these in Houston. He told me one time that this guy let them in. Something like 12 deputies poured into the house. The guy goes and sits down at in the living room and the guy I know sits across from him on the couch and starts talking to him. The table inbetween them was covered from side to side with the residue of cocaine. Another thing they do upon entry is head straight to the microwave. They swab the inside with a q-tip and test it for narcotics. They are usually found which then gives the cops PC to search the rest of the house even if the person their changes their mind.

These searches sound a bit different though as it sounds like they are just blanketing a whole city.

[Lodge2004]

Found this yesterday while looking for some recent DC city council information. This is the City's press release regarding their Safe Homes initiative.

http://dc.gov/mayor/news/release.asp?id=1228&mon=200803

Fenty, Lanier Announce New Programs to Prevent Gun Violence

Mayor Adrian M. Fenty and Metropolitan Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier announced today the launch of a multi-phased public safety initiative to kick off as we head into the spring and summer months.

Phase One: GunStat. Much like the CapStat process, GunStat is a collaborative information sharing process among local law enforcement agencies, including the Office of the Attorney General, the Metropolitan Police Department, the United States Attorneys Office, D.C. Superior Court, Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency and DC Pretrial Services Agency. GunStat will track gun gases from arrest to prosecution, and will allow law enforcement partners to identify repeat offenders, follow trends, and create law enforcement strategies that will prevent gun-related crimes.

Phase Two: Safe Homes Initiative. As part of Chief Lanier’s ongoing community policing strategy, the Metropolitan Police Department will launch the Safe Homes Initiative on March 24, 2008. Parents or guardians will be encouraged to voluntarily allow their neighborhood foot beat officers to enter their homes to search for weapons without risk of arrest. Beginning during this year’s spring break, officers will go door-to-door in the Focused Improvement Areas (FIA) of the Seventh Police District to ask residents if they will allow officers to do security checks of their homes. If weapons are recovered, they will be tested and destroyed if the weapons are not found to be linked to any other crimes.

Phase Three: Anonymous Toll-Free Crime Tip Line – 1-888-919-CRIME.

The Metropolitan Police Department now has a toll free crime tip line – 1-888-919-CRIME. The tip line will be staffed by detectives 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Anyone who has information concerning a homicide, gangs, guns, or other violent offenses can call the anonymous tip line, and a detective will report all information. The toll-free number will also be displayed on L.E.D. boards in patrol cars throughout the District.

“We have been working for some time with our law enforcement partners to come up with more ways to combat gun violence,� said Mayor Fenty. “Chief Lanier has already made strides with her community policing initiative and these programs will provide even more tools to help our police officers do their jobs in fighting crime in the city.�

“We cannot do enough to empower residents to play a role in keeping their neighborhood safe. The Safe Home initiative and the anonymous tip line will do just that. They will be another tool for residents, or anyone else who has information about a crime, to have immediate access and interaction with the police,� said Chief Lanier.

[ELB]

D.C. Gun Crackdown Meets Community Resistance
http://www.nbc4.com/news/15688264/detail.html

Police Ask Residents To Submit To Voluntary Searches

WASHINGTON -- A crackdown on guns is meeting some resistance in the District.

Police are asking residents to submit to voluntary searches in exchange for amnesty under the District's gun ban. They passed out fliers requesting cooperation on Monday.

The program will begin in a couple of weeks in the Washington Highlands neighborhood of southeast Washington and will later expand to other neighborhoods. Officers will go door to door asking residents for permission to search their homes.

Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier said the "safe homes initiative" is aimed at residents who want to cooperate with police. She gave the example of parents or grandparents who know or suspect their children have guns in the home.

Community leaders went door to door in Ward 8 Monday to advise residents not to invite police into their homes to search for weapons.

"Bad idea," said D.C. School Board member William Lockridge. "I think the people should not open your doors under any circumstances, don't even crack your door, unless someone has a warrant for your arrest."
Ron Hampton, of the Black Police Officers Association, said he doesn't expect many in the community to comply.

"This is one of those communities where the police even have problems getting information about crimes that are going on in the community, so to suggest, now, that the police have enough community capital in their hand that the community is going to cooperate with them, I'm not so sure that's a good idea," Hampton said.

If weapons are recovered, they will be tested and destroyed if they are not found to be linked to any other crimes.

A police spokeswoman said that if evidence of other crimes is found during voluntary searches, amnesty will be granted for that crime as well.

"Chief Lanier has been clear," Traci Hughes said. "Amnesty means amnesty."

I suspect the resistance has less to do with a well-thought-out, libertarian perspective of the role of police and citizenry and more to do with the fact that nobody has a shred of trust in the DC Police Department.

Also, I like the "Amnest is amnesty" policy. If you've been contemplating what to do about that nagging-spouse/cranky-live-in significant-other/tiresome roomy/guy-you-owe-money-to, now's your chance. When the cops find his/her dead body laying across the kitchen table, you're home free! And they'll probably cart off the corpse for you!

But wait, there's more!

Boston Police limit searches for guns: Opposition from residents is strong; Invited into homes without warrants
http://nalert.blogspot.com/2008/03/bost ... -guns.html

The Boston Globe reports:

Boston police officials, surprised by intense opposition from residents, have significantly scaled back and delayed the start of a program that would allow officers to go into people's homes and search for guns without a warrant.
more stories like this

The program, dubbed Safe Homes, was supposed to start in December, but has been delayed at least three times because of misgivings in the community. March 1 was the latest missed start date.

One community group has been circulating a petition against the plan. Police officials trying to assuage residents' fears have been drowned out by criticism at some meetings with residents and elected officials.

Officers may begin knocking on doors this week, officials said yesterday, but instead of heading into four troubled neighborhoods, as they had planned, officers will target only one, Egleston Square in Jamaica Plain, where police said they have received the most support.

Police would ask parents or legal guardians for permission to search homes where juveniles ages 17 and under are believed to be holding illegal guns. Police would only enter homes into which they have been invited and, once inside, would only search the rooms of the juveniles.