People caught in Dallas with a small amount of pot may soon be able to avoid jail.
County criminal justice leaders are quietly working on a program that would allow police to issue tickets to people accused of simple possession. Those cited would still face prosecution in court, but they wouldn’t be arrested.
Officials hope to launch a pilot program in Dallas in mid-January. Applied countywide, such a change in enforcement policy could result in hundreds fewer arrests each month. The goal, officials say, is to reduce the jail population and free up police resources.
“This is about not tying up officers and bringing them back out onto the street,” said Ron Stretcher, director of criminal justice for Dallas County.
A state law enacted in 2007 makes the ticket approach possible. The measure received little attention when it passed, and few counties have applied it.
But in recent years, the idea has gained support, and not just from advocates of marijuana decriminalization. Some conservatives have pushed it as a way to save law enforcement dollars. It costs about $63 a day to hold an inmate in the Dallas County Jail.
Still, the new approach could meet with resistance. Dallas Police Association President Ron Pinkston said he’d rather see the Texas Legislature address possible changes to the marijuana statutes. Police officers, he said, should focus on enforcing the laws that are on the books.
“Our job is to provide customer service to the citizens of Dallas, and they expect me to make an arrest,” Pinkston said.
Dallas Police Chief David Brown did not return a message seeking comment on the proposal.
Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins declined to comment, saying through his spokeswoman that details need to be worked out before he’ll discuss it publicly.
Still due in court
County leaders say the policy wouldn’t amount to decriminalization. Those cited would be required to appear later in court.
The maximum punishment for possession of less than 2 ounces of marijuana — 180 days in jail and a $2,000 fine — wouldn’t change.
But the new rules would probably mean that the vast majority of first-time offenders would never see a jail cell. Even now, the punishment for first-time offenders in Dallas County is usually community service, a fine and a mandatory class on drug abuse. Those who complete the requirements and stay clean can have the criminal charge erased from their record.
Resolving questions
Details of the cite-and-release policy are being ironed out in meetings involving judges, prosecutors and law enforcement officers. They say they’re moving forward but still have questions to resolve.
For one, law enforcement officials say they need to figure out how to ensure that people being cited are who they say they are. Fake IDs, as many a young person knows, aren’t difficult to obtain.
Another worry is that people will skip their court dates. That was a problem the county encountered a few years ago, when it implemented a similar system for other misdemeanors, such as theft and criminal mischief. After seeing a high failure-to-appear rate, officials canceled the experiment.
This time, the policy would probably apply only to marijuana arrests.
Legalization
The possible change comes at a time when popular opinion about marijuana appears to be shifting. Two states, Colorado and Washington, have legalized the drug for recreational use. And in Texas, the Harris County district attorney recently announced a program that would allow first-time offenders to keep marijuana arrests off their criminal records.
So far, Travis County is the largest in Texas to implement cite and release. It’s also in place in Midland County and Hays County.
Travis officials laud the approach as a success. In 2012, more than 4,500 people there were ticketed for marijuana possession. Given that it takes two to three hours to book a suspect into the Travis County Jail, law enforcement officials estimate the policy has saved officers more than 11,300 hours of work.
“Our agency supports it,” said Roger Wade, a spokesman for the Travis County Sheriff’s Office. “We’d like to see it expanded.”
Follow Matthew Watkins on Twitter at @mwatkinsDMN.
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