TROY, N.Y. -
On Thursday, Troy's
City Council will vote on a mandatory registration of parolees with the city's
Police Chief.
The upcoming vote on the local law would mean individuals coming out of
prison on probation, with the intent of residing in Troy, would be put in a system where they are
identified and registered.
Troy's City
Council Public Safety Chair, Nina Nichols, calls the registration a "key
quality of life issue" for the city.
According to Nichols, seven to ten parolees move to Troy each month.
Legislation similar to this proposal already exists in the cities of
Watervliet, Rensselaer and Albany.
"That program was working well there and we wanted to bring it to Troy," said Nichols.
Rensselaer's Deputy Chief of Police James Frankowski says the program has
been on the City of Rensselaer's
books since 1990 with small differences: There are no identification cards
issued and the parolees don't register directly with the Police Chief.
Frankowski says the program is effective. "Parolees come in and
register every other Tuesday to see their parole officers and we have a
detective assigned to that parole officer, so when people come in and register
or check in with their parole officer we know who they are."
If the proposal passes, NEWS10 is told there will be a nominal cost to
taxpayers of Troy.
NEWS10 ABC
