REGISTRY TRACKS METH COOKS

Four States Now Maintain Internet Lists of Drug Offenders, With More
Likely to Follow.

It works much like any other registry of dangerous offenders. Punch in
a name, bring up a criminal history. Try a county search, find
everyone on the list who may live nearby.

But instead of child molesters, a new Web site tracks methamphetamine
cooks in Tennessee.

And more states are joining the latest effort to fight the drug --
putting the identities of meth manufacturers a mouse click away.

"It's designed for the people who have to be exposed to them,"
Jennifer Johnson of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said of the
meth registry. "They're a public threat. They're not just a threat to
themselves."

Though no official effort has begun in Missouri or Kansas to keep
public tabs on convicted meth makers, some law enforcement officials
are intrigued by the possibilities. They say the explosive and toxic
threats posed by home-based meth labs are well-known, recidivism is
common and potential neighbors and landlords could stand to know who
they're dealing with.

"There's probably more danger from meth cooks than some of the people
we're registering now," said Kyle Smith, a spokesman for the Kansas
Bureau of Investigation. "You're talking about people with a drug
addiction that is so hard to break, that are making it themselves with
dangerous chemicals."

If legislators in Missouri and Kansas agree, they will have no
shortage of examples to follow. Montana -- which has a remarkably
complete online registry of criminals, including those convicted of a
bevy of nonsexual violent offenses -- began tracking meth cooks in
2003.

Tennessee, Minnesota and Illinois followed in the last two years, and
six other states, including Oklahoma and Georgia, are considering registries.

The movement comes as the number of home-based meth labs is declining
nationwide. So far this year, law enforcement in Missouri -- still the
nation's leader in meth incidents -- has encountered about 50 percent
fewer labs compared with the same period a year ago, according to the
Missouri Highway Patrol.

Supporters of registries note, however, that although imported drugs
are taking over the market, small-time labs still pose a risk to
neighbors and the officers who must clean them up.

The lists aren't always as thorough as a sex-offender
registry.

Tennessee's meth registry features names, birth dates and counties of
offense, but no current addresses or photos. Illinois is hashing out
what to include on its list. No one has proposed mandatory lifelong
registration for meth makers.

Johnson said that Tennessee's effort has run smoothly so far, with
more than 400 registrants and heavy Web traffic.

But like sex-offender registries, the meth lists raise concerns and
criticism.

Ken Collins, deputy director of national affairs for the Drug Policy
Alliance, likens the lists to a second punishment for convicts who
already have served their time.

"It's completely against the concept of a rule of law," he said. "It
creates a number of questions, starting with what exactly are you
trying to accomplish here."

The double-jeopardy argument failed to win over the U.S. Supreme Court
when it considered the constitutionality of sex-offender registries.

Smith of the KBI noted that another registry may overwork law
enforcement, especially if officers have to check on the
registrants.

Sex offenders must self-report to keep registry information
up-to-date, and a Kansas City Star sampling of the Kansas and Missouri
lists found that about a third of offenders were not living where they
said they were.

"We're trying to get the sex offender registry funded," Smith said.
"Until that happens, we're not looking to expand."

Missouri Rep. Scott Lipke, chairman of the House's Crime Prevention
and Public Safety Committee, said that a meth registry was something
he would consider. But a higher priority now is a linked information
system among pharmacies that would further crack down on the sale of
meth ingredients to cooks.

Rep. Cathy Jolly, a Kansas City Democrat, said she supports a
registry.

"Any time that we can help give the public access to information to
protect families and their neighborhoods, it's a good thing," Jolly
said. "Missouri should want to be at the forefront of this. ... If
Illinois is keeping track of their meth makers, I think we should, as
well."