Seeking quality gun control

BOSTON MAYOR Thomas Menino is looking for any lever that might help police reduce gun violence in the city. But his latest proposal to strip driver's licenses from those convicted of gun crimes seems a bit naive. If a mandatory 18-month jail sentence for carrying an unlicensed gun doesn't dissuade people from toting weapons, why would a license suspension or revocation?

Menino is taking a national leadership role in the fight against gun crime. He's on the prowl for news-making ideas. But quality is more important than quantity when it comes to anti crime strategies. Being stripped of a driver's license might be a significant deterrent in the suburbs where the car is king. But loss of a license is not likely to agitate gang-involved young people in cities where the vast majority of the shootings occur.

Public safety requires more arrests for gun crimes, not more sanctions on ex-offenders. Once in court, the chances are pretty good that gun offenders will be dealt with effectively. Of the 172 cases prosecuted in Suffolk County's special gun court last year, 92 defendants were sentenced to serve mandatory sentences for illegal gun possession and another 52 were convicted for other violations, according to Suffolk District Attorney Daniel Conley. And the gun charge convictions sting more since March, when lawmakers passed a bill raising the mandatory penalty for illegal possession from one year of imprisonment to 18 months.

Conley says it is a "great myth" that prosecutors frequently reduce the sentences in plea agreements. Such reductions take place in only about 5 percent of gun possession cases, he says. And the gun cases that collapse relate to questionable searches by police, not deal-making by DAs.

Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis says he supports the mayor's initiative and believes that license suspensions could be a deterrent. Many offenders, says Davis, have little concern about serving time in prison, provided they are free and clear of the justice system when they wrap up their sentences. Davis believes that the prospect of facing a license suspension upon release would make some offenders think twice.

What is unclear, however, is whether judges would even impose the sanction. State law currently allows the Registry of Motor Vehicles to suspend driver's licenses and revoke car registrations of people convicted of drug charges. But judges don't often employ the measure, says Conley. In those cases, defense attorneys are quite convincing in making the case that their clients' employment prospects depend on an ability to drive.

Lawmakers could enhance the safety of police during traffic stops by ensuring that gun convictions are noted in the Registry's databases. There is certainly no harm there. But the goal should remain locking up the criminals, not their wheels.