Advocates are making their voices heard about the potential harms of the new drug dealer registry in Rensselaer County.
The countywide registry, approved unanimously by county legislators earlier this year with support from the district attorney, aims to track county residents convicted of drug sale crimes by publicly recording their names and addresses.
It was announced with fanfare in January, when Republican County Legislator Bruce Patire, who represents District 5, said his objective is to “make it more difficult for these people to thrive.”
“We have to help the people in our community, protect their children, by making sure these people are put away. They're bad people and they should be in jail. And they're not going to jail. These drug dealers are being released."
Since then, local opposition has grown.
Damaris Miller, a Troy resident and an organizer with Troy 4 Black Lives, says registries isolate people, often making situations worse.
“Registries have been proven over and over again to not actually have any meaningful impact on reducing the rate of sexual assault or rape or any type of sexual crime,” Miller said. “Actually, what happens for folks on those registries that that they get further isolated from resources, from community. It's harder for them to find employment, housing, access to social services, all of those things that would help them to actually break the cycle of violence, and heal themselves.”
Melanie Trimble is the regional director with the New York Civil Liberties Union.
“The impact on people on the registry may be a major cause for re-offense given the difficulty people experience with job loss, social stigma, and shame and not being able to integrate back into the community,” Trimble said.
County Legislator Peter Grimm, who represents District 1, says he is glad the community is engaging with the legislation. But he wishes it happened sooner. The minority Democrat says he and some of his colleagues plan to introduce legislation to repeal the local law.
“I do not know of any solution that's going to solve our drug problem, or solve the problem of having drug dealers in our community,” Grimm said. “But I think everyone needs to be part of the conversation to help us all get there. I think, you know, we've identified the problem, but we haven't had a conversation to find the solutions. And that's where I think we have to begin.”
Grimm says he and some fellow lawmakers are considering the legality of the law after advocates presented what he called “very strong points” against the legislation at a recent meeting.
Rensselaer County District Attorney Mary Pat Donnelly declined to comment on the legislation. The county legislatures attorney, Phil Danaher, did not immediately respond to request for comment.
Miller says if the law can’t be repealed, he would like to see it go unenforced.
“We're very conscious of the fact that this is the first county in the state to institute this type of law. And so, we really want to nip this in the bud before it's exported to other counties,” Miller said.
Courtney Lovell, a recovering substance user in Troy, says the legislation isolates people struggling with addiction. She says the county should focus on supporting them instead of ostracizing them.
“When people are resorting to criminal behaviors or selling drugs for income, it's because they're lacking other resources and ways to thrive in society,” Lovell said. “So, again, the solution lies in creating more opportunities for people to have better employment, to have better education and have more stable housing, not in finding ways to make those things further out of reach.”
The registry, which was planned to launch in February, has not yet been made public.
