Civil liberties activists criticize Boston police search program

By Globe Staff

Civil liberties activists say they are going to reach out to Boston residents to educate them about their rights under a new police program in which detectives will ask parents to allow them to search for guns in their children's bedrooms.

The program "does an end-run around basic constitutional protections and we question whether it will effectively reduce the number of guns on the street," Carol Rose, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, said in a statement.

Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis said that police won't make the searches unless they are given permission. He also emphasized that the program was intended to stop violence on the streets.

"There's a huge body of law on it that clearly indicates that it is justifiable under the Constitution, as long as it's informed consent," he said. "What we're trying to do is to help. We're not looking to prosecute the individual, we're looking to get the gun off the street."

The ACLU said its campaign would include distribution of "Know Your Rights" fliers in an effort to warn people about the dangers of consenting to the searches.

The ACLU emphasized that people did not have to agree to the searches. "If you say no, the police should leave," Amy Reichbach of the ACLU said in a statement.

Police have promised they won't charge a youth with unlawful gun possession, if a gun is found, unless the gun is linked to a shooting or homicide. But the ACLU said it was concerned that police might come across evidence of other crimes and charge the youth, or someone else in the home, with those crimes.

Davis said police are hoping the program will save lives.

"I can't keep showing up at crime scenes and seeing the carnage wrought by these firearms without trying everything in my purview to stop it," said Davis.

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