Lenexa tracks storage units
Police are given the authority to monitor rental lists as a way to block criminal activity.
By EDIE HALL
The Kansas City Star
Lenexa police now have unabridged access to lists of individuals renting storage units within the city.
Through what will probably be monthly checks of those lists, police say, they will be able to take a proactive approach to stopping crimes in storage units a national trend that has shown up in the Kansas City area.
In April, investigators found drugs and firearms in storage lockers in Kansas City, Kan., and Merriam. The lockers were rented to a Leavenworth man who was charged in U.S. District Court.
Several cities around the nation have instituted programs that encourage the owners of storage facilities to work with police.
Last week, the Lenexa City Council voted to require managers of storage facilities to maintain a register of users including each renters home address, phone number and a copy of a drivers license or other reliable identification and to allow police access to the register.
Lenexa police think the city is the first in the metropolitan area to take this approach, and a representative from a national association for self-storage facility owners said he knew of no other city with similar requirements.
Police said the managers of the six storage facilities in Lenexa supported the requirements.
Their national counterparts didnt embrace the idea, though, citing privacy concerns.
City attorney Cindy Harmison said the requirement wasnt a violation of privacy because officers would have access only to public information.
Were not asking for any information that is privileged, she said. Its the same information that is required of individuals who are renting a room within Lenexa at a hotel or motel.
In 1997, the city adopted the same registration requirements for managers of hotels and motels.
This seemed like a natural extension of our existing ordinance for hotel registration lists, which has proven to be a tremendous benefit for our community, said Lenexa Officer David Lewis-Jones, who represented the Police Department at the council meeting. Weve taken a lot of bad people into custody based on information from those registration lists.
Lewis-Jones said having access to the registration lists helps police identify people who have criminal records that suggest they could be using the storage unit for criminal activities, such as methamphetamine labs or to hide stolen property.
Were looking at the people who have been arrested several times in the recent past and obviously have ongoing criminal enterprises, Lewis-Jones said. If youre talking about a 40-year-old who made a mistake when he was 18 and has been a good guy ever since were not interested, and the last thing we intend to do is bother law-abiding citizens.
Storage unit crimes
A few examples of crimes tied to storage units:
"Bonner Springs: In February, Toby Young rented a storage unit the week before using her cargo van to help convicted murderer John M. Manard escape from Lansing Correctional Facility. After leaving the van at the storage unit, Young and Manard disappeared for 12 days before being captured in a rural Tennessee cabin.
"Lancaster, Pa.: In August, a homemade bomb, an arsenal of firearms, 30 marijuana plants and drug paraphernalia were found in a storage unit.
"Mobile, Ala: In June, a methamphetamine lab set up in a storage unit exploded, killing a man who was producing the drug.
"Danville, N.H.: In June, police recovered thousands of dollars worth of stolen goods that had been stashed in a storage unit. Stolen items included a hot tub, snowmobile trailer, air conditioners, appliances and kitchen cabinets.
To reach Edie Hall, call (816) 234-7725 or send e-mail to
ehall@kcstar.com.
Source:
kcstar article
