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Copyright (c) The Valley News 09/08/2001 City peddling law strengthened after murder of local woman by Andrew Henderson
Fulton Common Council members unanimously approved regulation this week upgrading the city’s peddling and soliciting law after family members of Diana Cooper urged city councilors to pass the local law. "She always felt safe here and said Fulton was the safest city to raise children," Kimberley McMillan said about her mother. "That was then this was now. If you passed this amendment, something good would come out of my mother’s death." According to Fulton Chief of Police Mark Spawn, the new local law is a comprehensive approach to help curb some of the criminal activity that might correlate with peddlers and solicitors.
"What we are proposing today parallels the new New York State No Call Registry where you can block telephone solicitors from calling you at home," said Chief Spawn. "It should seem just as fair to regulate that at your front door." With the new ordinance, residents are able to post a notice on their property that prohibits solicitation. The law also limits where a solicitor may go. "They have to use the main door," he said. "They can’t go to a side door. They can’t go fishing around the back." According to Chief Spawn, criminals might use soliciting and peddling as a way to "case" a residence. The new law attempts to curb that activity, he added. Aggressive peddling is also prohibited in the new local law. "Not only is that section a misdemeanor, it is also grounds for us to revoke or suspend a soliciting permit," he said. Under the previous ordinance, the city could only give a vendor a 30-day notice before revoking a permit. "The time line shifted," Chief Spawn said explaining the old ordinance. "The wrong person got control. Plus, these solicitors are in and out of here in a much tighter time frame than 30 days." Spawn did note that for the most part the city has had "some very good success" with peddlers. "However, some solicitors are transient," he said. "They’re low paid. They’re working on commissions. These are the conditions that promote criminal activity." In January, Chief Spawn interviewed Matthew Maxson, a door-to-door magazine salesman, who pleaded guilty to murdering Diana Cooper in March. He was sentenced to 15 years-to-life on a second-degree murder charge. "I asked him if he committed his crime out of desperation. He said he was not desperate; he needed to get the money to eat and for drugs," Spawn noted. "At the end of the day, the employees would often get together, eat, and do drugs — usually marijuana." During the interview, Maxson also admitted that employees often looked for opportunities to steal from private properties, Spawn said. The murder of Diana Cooper was probably the greatest example of the need for a new peddling and soliciting law but it was not the only example. According to Chief Spawn, a vendor last year during the Fulton Memorial Day Salute Parade sold fireworks. The Fulton Police Department ended up receiving a letter and a phone call from parent of a child in Oswego "who had been pelted with the fireworks and sustained injuries." As far as this year, only one group has solicited in the city, he said, but one of those solicitors was "wanted on a bench warrant from another jurisdiction." "The new ordinance empowers residents to prohibit solicitors," Chief Spawn said. "If you post little sign at your front door that says ‘No peddlers or solicitors’ and I am a solicitor coming to your door violating this, I am going to get arrested." The new law also requires peddlers to carry their permits with them at all times. If someone questions a peddler and asks to see a permit and the peddler does not display one, the peddler is going to jail, said Chief Spawn. A first-time offense is a violation and every other offense after that is a misdemeanor. The new ordinance also allows vendors and peddlers the opportunity to purchase daily, weekly, monthly, and annual peddling and soliciting permits. Previously, there were only a 30-day and annual fee schedules. The local law does not apply to persons soliciting signatures for political petitions or for the U.S. Census and dog enumerations. The law also does not apply for charitable and non-profit fund-raising activities such as candy and cookie sales. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Original URL valleynewsonline.com Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction or distribution is prohibited without permission. |
