Huntsville looks to ban registrants from working as sales solicitors

This news is a little late in coming, but had I seen this days ago, I would have tried stopping it. I also see the city is attacking panhandlers as well.

http://itemonline.com/local/x1333761469/Door-to-door-solicitors-subject-of-city-rule-change

July 2, 2013
Door-to-door solicitors subject of city rule change
By Brandon K. Scott
Staff Reporter

HUNTSVILLE — The Huntsville Police Department does not have the authority through city ordinance to deny a permit to door-to-door solicitors with serious criminal histories like homicide, sex offenses or burglary.  The city requires solicitors to obtain a permit from HPD, but the police could only deny the request for untruthfulness on the application.

That is what led police chief Kevin Lunsford to introduce an amendment to Chapter 32 of the Code of Ordinances that regulates solicitation and peddling for public safety.

“So if they were just paroled out of TDC, if they were a sex offender or a burglar, we couldn’t deny them a permit to come to your house,” Lunsford said at the June 18 City Council meeting. “So that’s the main thing we started trying to address with this, and this gives us some avenues to deny them if they’ve had certain convictions in the last five years or so.

“It’s more clearly specified the times of day or night when they could and couldn’t. We don’t want them coming at all hours of the night.”

The rule change would prohibit solicitation between 8 p.m. or sunset (whichever comes first) and 9 a.m. Added language to the ordinance says the police chief could refuse or revoke a certificate if the applicant has been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor involving a sex offense, drug trafficking, burglary, theft, or any violent crimes within five years of the application.

Police can also deny an applicant’s request if they have been under civil judgment for fraud.

Lunsford said the department has seen an increase in panhandlers along interstate corridors, so a change in the ordinance makes it an offense to engage in panhandling in a public place within the corporate city limits.

The City Council will consider voting on the ordinance at tonight’s regular session.

WHNT- Myric Hotel Demolished

What I see happening in Alabama (and many other places) is the news prompts fear and hysteria and a call to shut down low-income housing, which is the best many ex-felons struggling to obtain jobs and housing can afford. Sad. Stable housing and employment reduces recidivism among ex-felons.

http://www.whnt.com/news/whnt-myric-motel-demolished,0,5525914.story

WHNT Myric Motel Demolished Amber Stuart WHNT Reporter 5:13 PM CDT, June 7, 2010 HUNTSVILLE [Image] A motel that's been a Huntsville landmark and later became home to sex offenders is being leveled.

Demolition crews started tearing up the Myric Motel last week.

Huntsville Police have kept up with sex offenders who have lived there over the years. Before the demolition nine registered sex offenders called the motel home. The number of registered sex offenders fluctuated at the Myric Motel. But the last count was nine men. "By law they have to register with us when they move," said Madison County Sheriff Investigator Brent Patterson. That way, law enforcement can warn people when they are moving into their neighborhood. "We let the community know when they are living in that area, when they are moving to that area, and they want to establish residency there," said Patterson.
Of the registered sex offenders who were living at the Myric Motel, Huntsville Police say one man has moved out of town. Two men are in Alabama prisons on parole violations, and two are missing. They say one man is living in Madison County. Three of them are living in Huntsville on Knight Road.

Brent Patterson with the Madison County Sheriff's Department says they aren't just watching the Myric Motel sex offenders. "It's not just them, we have sex offenders all over the place. It's our job. It's not anything we like or dislike. It's our job to maintain where they're at what they're around: schools, daycares, my kids, your kids anybody's kids and make sure they don't violate the law again," said Patterson. The two men Huntsville Police are looking for, Federico Camacho-Serna and Robert Townsend. It's a felony crime for failing to register as a sex offender. Right now, it's unclear what the land will be used for once it's cleared.