Boston police are unveiling a controversial new program that will enable officers to search homes in high-crime neighborhoods without first securing a warrant.
Under the new program, police officers in Boston will be able to enter houses with a parent's permission if it is believed that a child living in the house is keeping guns there. If the officers, who will dress in plain clothes so as not to attract attention, are refused entry by parents or legal guardians, they will leave the premises without forcing entry.
The program, which is based on a similar program successfully implemented in St. Louis in 1994, will target young people whose parents are either afraid to confront them or unaware that they might be stashing weapons, Boston Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis said.
While speaking to community activists who have concerns that civil liberties will be imperiled if the new program is implemented, Davis, said, "I understand people's concerns about this, but the mothers of the young men who have been arrested with firearms that I've talked to are in a quandary. They don't know what to do when faced with the problem of dealing with a teenage boy in possession of a firearm. We're giving them an option in that case."
Although, the program is designed to search for and remove weapons from children's possession, if drugs are found on the premises, it will be up to the officers' whether or not to make an arrest. However, police said in cases where modest amounts of drugs like marijuana are found, the drugs will simply be confiscated and will not lead to arrest or formal charges.
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