In an effort to disrupt drug dealing outside of
corner convenience stores operating in residential neighborhoods, a
Baltimore councilwoman is pushing for legislation that would give
police the authority to temporarily close such businesses.
If Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke's bill is approved, Baltimore
police would be armed with a power once enacted during some of the
city's worst years of drug violence in the early 1990s.
While some council members express concern about punishing business
owners for activities of people congregating outside their stores, most
side with Clarke and community leaders who say temporary curfews might
stem the foot traffic fueling the drug trade in many neighborhoods.
The bill "would target stores in the quiet heart of residential
neighborhoods, where it's easy for customers to get in and out of, but
hard for police to patrol," said Clarke, who introduced the measure at
the council's Dec. 5 meeting. "This is not intended for stores in
active commercial corridors."
The bill is waiting to be reviewed by several city agencies,
including the police and law departments, and will be scheduled for a
hearing before the council's judiciary and legislative investigations
committee.
The measure closely mirrors a law that was introduced March 9,
1992, and supported by Clarke and then-Councilman Martin O'Malley. It
was imposed for a year but only applied to stores in designated
drug-free zones of the city. Under the earlier law, curfews could only
be imposed between midnight and 6 a.m.
Clarke and Robert Nowlin, a Pen Lucy neighborhood activist, said
the curfew never had to be formally implemented because the threat of
it was enough to get business owners to take action to keep their
corners clear of loiterers.
"It worked very well," Nowlin said. "I think it's a very good idea to reinstitute."
Nowlin and others said they believe that drug dealing on street
corners in residential neighborhoods is reaching worrisome levels and
that this law would provide police with another tool to break up the
traffic.
"People buy drugs the way they buy other products," Clarke said. "If you break the cycle, you help break up the trade."
The new curfew legislation applies to businesses on residentially
zoned streets or those that are within one block of churches or
schools. Before the police commissioner could impose a curfew, a
community association or police commander would need to present a
petition showing that the store is "the focal point" for the "loitering
or gathering" of people who intend to "engage in unlawful drug related
activity," the bill states.
Stores could be closed for up to six hours a day, depending on
when drug activity is most evident. The law would bar the police from
implementing the restriction for more than 120 days in any six-month
period.
Owners are provided with a 30-day notice before a curfew is
imposed, giving them time to formally fight the maneuver. When store
owners protest, the police commissioner would be required to
investigate to determine if they have done enough to discourage
loiterers outside their establishments.
Shop owners can avoid the imposition by proving that they provide
adequate security or by disproving the assertion that their stores are
focal points for drug activities. The bill, which allows for court
appeals, also calls for imposing fines of up to $1,000 or 30 days in
jail for stores that violate curfews.
The stores, Clarke said, "serve no convenience to the residents,
and they're a nuisance because of the drug trade" they attract.
She pointed to two convenience stores on a corner in the Northeast Baltimore neighborhood of Coldstream-Homestead-Montebello.
Clarke said many neighbors have complained to her about the drug dealing that gravitates to the corner.
Councilwoman Helen L. Holton said the specifics of the bill need
to be studied carefully to make sure concerns of business owners are
taken into consideration. Holton said she wanted to make sure the
curfew law does not expose the city to lawsuits if it does not provide
adequate protest provisions for owners.
"I think there's a lot to be explained before we say, 'This is a great idea, let's do it,'" Holton said.
But, she added, she supports the concept behind the bill because
it puts problem businesses "on notice that we're not going to tolerate"
their contribution to the drug trade.
"The sad reality is that many of the owners of these corner stores don't live in the community," Holton said.
Councilman Kenneth N. Harris Sr. said he supports the bill as a
tool for police to disrupt drug dealing and to force business owners to
become more involved.
"This is going to force their hand to be part of the process,"
Harris said. "If you want to do business in our neighborhoods, you have
to be part of the solution."
Drug traffic could force stores to close
Sun reporter
Originally published January 1, 2006