Registry of drug dealers proposed

By DAVID HENCH, Portland Press Herald Writer

Copyright © 2006 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.

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Alerting neighbors to the presence of a local drug dealer could significantly enhance public safety, according to a Windham legislator who wants lawmakers to consider on online registry for certain drug offenders.

Sen. Bill Diamond, D-Windham, has submitted legislation asking lawmakers to consider an online registry for people repeatedly convicted of selling drugs, similar to the registry of convicted sex offenders. He said it would focus on people who sell drugs to kids.

"It would make the public aware of somebody who is continually trying and actually selling drugs to minors," Diamond said. "That public awareness provides many more sets of eyes checking their community."

Some people, however, object to the idea as an example of misplaced priorities in the effort to curb drug crimes.

"Establishing a yellow pages for convicted drug dealers doesn't sound like a good idea to me," said Shenna Bellows, executive director of the Maine Civil Liberties Union. "A better use of taxpayers' dollars would be to fund public education to keep kids off drugs and rehabilitation to keep users from turning into dealers."

Diamond has submitted a bill asking that the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee study a drug dealer registry.

Diamond advanced the proposal the day after the state released crime statistics that show a significant increase in robberies and property crimes, an increase that public safety officials say is the result of drug users trying to get money to feed their habits.

In Diamond's home town of Windham, two teenage boys were charged in May with running a drug ring out of their home. Police seized marijuana, hypodermic needles, brass knuckles and evidence of a marijuana-growing operation as well as three guns and a ledger listing the names of 50 high-school students.

Diamond, who chairs the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee, said the registry idea ultimately may be rejected, but it bears exploring.

"I think the problem is escalating, and I don't think people have a good handle on what to do about it," he said. "The worst thing we can do is not do anything and hope it goes away because it won't."

Public safety officials said they were unaware of other states with a registry of drug dealers, though Tennessee has a registry of those convicted of manufacturing methamphetamine. Officials in that state reasoned that the chemicals used in the process are dangerous enough that residents living near someone with that history deserve to know about it.

Maine law enforcement officials say they are reacting to the increase in drug-related crime. More local police departments are designating officers to work with the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency, and the agency has been sharing intelligence with local detectives about robberies, said MDEA Director Roy McKinney.

The arrival of a drug dealer can diminish the quality of life in a neighborhood, one of the reasons the MDEA tries to balance investigations to corral street-level dealers as well as distributors, McKinney said.

Drug dealing has an "insidious impact" on neighborhoods, McKinney said, but the Legislature will have to decide whether a drug dealer registry makes sense.

Sgt. Scott Pelletier, a Portland officer assigned to oversee the southern Maine MDEA office, said investigators rarely arrest someone for selling to juveniles.

"Clearly drugs are making it down to the juvenile level, but I do not recall a case, during our undercover work or using cooperating individuals, that juveniles have been present," Pelletier said. "The stereotypical dealer dealing to kids to get them hooked on drugs, I have yet to see that here."

Lani Kelly, who is running against Diamond for the Senate District 12 seat, said she doesn't believe creating a registry of drug dealers will do much to stop the drug problem. Instead, she would like to see more serious penalties for so-called small-time dealers and better anti-drug programs in schools.

The Supreme Court has determined that informing the public about a sex offender's past does not constitute punishment and is allowable because it is in the interests of public safety. It's unclear whether drug dealers would be viewed as warranting the same treatment.

While sex offenders are seen as a threat to commit random crime, particularly as it relates to children, drug dealers rely on willing buyers. Diamond says they are still a threat when it comes to children.

"Kids are a special target just as they were with the tobacco makers," Diamond said. "They're easier to convince. I think they're a more vulnerable target, and I think the dealers know this."

Even as Diamond introduces the idea of a new registry, his committee is getting ready to change the existing sex offender registry. The committee meets today to consider changes following the shooting death of two registered offenders in central Maine by a Canadian man who later shot himself.

Staff Writer David Hench can be contacted at 791-6327 or at: