Boston councilor wants hearings on warrantless search program

By Matt Viser, Globe Staff

Boston City Councilor Chuck Turner today called for hearings to scrutinize a Boston Police Department police program in which police would ask parents for permission to search for guns in their children's rooms.

"We should not encourage our police department to engage in clever strategies that undercut the constitutional rights of every citizen," Turner said in a statement.

Earlier this month, Boston police announced the Safe Homes program in which police would search youth's bedrooms without a warrant. The program is based on the premise that parents are so fearful of gun violence and the possibility that their own teenagers will be caught up in it that they will turn to police for help, even in their own households. Civil liberties activists have criticized the program.

Turner's main concern is that police will not tell residents that they can refuse. He also suggests that a visit by three police officers could be a "subtle coercion of permission." In addition, he says, paying the officers to work overtime could add unnecessary costs.

"While I understand and share the concern of the Menino administration regarding the spread of guns and the use of guns in the city," Turner said. "I do not believe that their warrant-less search approach is an appropriate response."

His call for hearings, which is being co-sponsored by councilors Felix Arroyo and Charles Yancey, will come up at tomorrow's City Council meeting.

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