nyc pot busts: $75 million a year

8/7/2019 NYC Pot Busts: $75 Million a Year

1/13

Drug Policy Alliance

70 West 36th Street, 16th Floor

New York, NY 10018

www.drugpolicy.org

March 2011

$75 Million a YearThe Cost of New York City'sMarijuana Possession Arrests

x InNewYorkState,carryingasmallamountofmarijuanainapocket,backpackorpurse

isaviolation,likeatrafficviolation,andisnotacrime.Nonetheless,in2010theNew

YorkPoliceDepartmentmade50,300arrestsformarijuanapossessionmorethanfor

anyotheroffenseandoneoutofsevenarrestsinNewYorkCity.

x Overthelast15years,asinglearrestformarijuanapossession,includingallpoliceand

courtexpenses,hascostfrom$1,000to$2,000ormore,conservativelyestimated.

x In2010,NewYorkCityspent$75millionarrestingandjailingmostlyyoungpeople

simplyforpossessingsmallamountsofmarijuana.

x From1997through2010theNYPDmade536,000arrestsformarijuanapossession.

Thishascosttaxpayers$500milliontoover$1billion.

x Marijuanapossessionarrestsalsohaveserioushumancostsandconsequences.TheycreatepermanentcriminalrecordsthatcanbeeasilyfoundontheInternetby

employers,landlords,schools,creditagencies,licensingboards,andbanks.

x Governmenthealthsurveysfindthatyoungwhitesusemarijuanaathigherratesthan

youngblacksandLatinos.ButtheNYPDarrestsblacksformarijuanapossessionat

seventimestherateofwhitesandLatinosatnearlyfourtimestherateofwhites.


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2

About:

"$75MillionAYear"waspreparedbyHarryG.LevineandLorenSiegeloftheMarijuanaArrest

ResearchProject.HarryG.Levine,PhD,isaprofessorofsociologyatQueensCollege,City

UniversityofNewYork.Heistheauthorofnumerousworksondrugpolicyandmarijuana

arrests.LorenSiegel,JD,wasformanyyearsthedirectorofpubliceducationfortheAmerican

CivilLibertiesUnion.Sheisacommunicationsconsultantforprominentmediaandadvocacy

organizations.In2010,Levine,SiegelandcriminaljusticeresearcherJonGettmanissueda

seriesofreportsfortheDrugPolicyAllianceandtheNAACPaboutraciallybiasedmarijuana

arrestsinCalifornia.

TheDrugPolicyAlliance(DPA)isthenation'sleadingorganizationpromotingalternativestothe

drugwarthataregroundedinscience,compassion,healthandhumanrights.

Contact:GabrielSayegh,StateDirector,NewYork,DrugPolicyAlliance.

[email protected]|212.613.8048

70W.36thStreet,16thFloor,NewYork,NY10018

www.drugpolicy.org______________________________________________________________________________________


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3

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

350,000

400,000

450,000

500,000

550,000

19811995 19962010

33,775

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

30,000

35,000

40,000

45,00050,000

55,000

78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

30YearsofMarijuanaPossessionArrests

inNewYorkCity,19811995&19962010

536,322

Source:NewYorkStateDivisionofCriminalJusticeServices,ComputerizedCriminalHistorySystem(Feb2011).Includesall

fingerprintablemisdemeanorarrestsforNYSPenalLawArticle221.10asthemostseriouschargeinanarrestevent.Ages

16andolder.Thesetablesshowonlythelowestlevelmisdemeanormarijuanapossessionarrestsandcharges.HarryG.Levine,SociologyDepartment,QueensCollegeandtheGraduateCenter,CityUniversityofNewYork.Feb2011

MarijuanaPossessionArrestsinNewYorkCity,19782010


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4

TheCostofNewYorkCity's

MarijuanaPossessionArrests

Inrecentyearsreportsbyacademics,researchers,andjournalistshavedocumentedthe

largenumberofarrestsforpossessionofmarijuanamadebypoliceinNewYorkCity.TheNYPD

made46,400ofthesemisdemeanorarrestsin2009,and50,300ofthemin2010thetwomost

recentyearsinthecity'sfifteenyearmarijuanaarrestcrusade.1

Forcomparison,from1981to1995,underthreedifferentmayors,NewYorkCitymadea

totalof33,700marijuanapossessionarrests,averagingonly2,300peryear.Forthepastfifteen

years,however,NewYorkaveraged36,000marijuanapossessionarrestsayear.In2010theNYPD

arrestedpeopleformarijuanapossessionatnearlysixteentimestherateofearlieryears.

Theseareallarrestswherethehighestoronlychargewaspossessingasmallamountof

marijuana,usuallyatinybagoracigarette(ajointorblunt).Thosearrestedwereoverwhelmingly

teenagersandyoungpeopleintheirtwenties,and87%ofthemwereblackorLatino.

InNewYorkState,possessinglessthananounceofmarijuanaisnotacrimeforwhich

someonecanbearrestedandfingerprinted.Itisonlyacrimeifthemarijuanaisopenly

displayedorsmoked,whichwasnotthecaseformostpeoplearrested.Therefore,Inorderto

makethesepossessionarrests,thepoliceusuallyhadtotrickorintimidateyoungpeopleinto

revealingtheirmarijuana,orsearchtheperson'spocketsandpossessions,oftenillegally.2

Thepeoplearrestedwerehandcuffed,takentothepolicestation,fingerprinted,

photographed,andtheirinformationwaspermanentlyenteredintocriminaldatabases.Theywerethentakentothecentralbookingjailatoneofthecity'scriminalcourts.After24ormore

hoursincustody,theyfinallyappearedinarraignmentcourtwheretheircaseswerehandledby

assistantdistrictattorneys,publicdefenders,criminalcourtjudges,andothercourtpersonnel.3

In2010,oneoutofeverysevenarrestsforalloffensesinNewYorkCity,andoneoutof

fiveofallmisdemeanorarrests,wasalowestlevelmarijuanapossessionarrest.Since

BloombergbecameMayorin2002,theNYPDhasmade350,000ofthesearrests,morethan

underMayorsKoch,DinkinsandGiulianicombined.4

HowmuchmoneydoesitcostNewYorkCitytomakeandprocessallthesearrests?

Nooneknows.Otherthanthetopmanagersofthepolicedepartmentandthemayorsoffice,noonehasaccesstotheinformationandtherearelimitedwaystoobtainit.Asadistrictattorney

fromanotherlargecitysuggestedtous,theNewYorkCityCouncilorStateLegislature,orboth,

couldholdhearingsandrequiretheNYPDandothercriminaljusticeagenciestodisclosethese

costs.Or,awellfundedteamofexperiencedinvestigatorscouldgothroughpublicrecords,sue

foraccesstoothers,andusethatinformationtoestimatethecostsofthecity'smarijuana

possessionarrests.Atpresent,theinformationneededtopreciselycalculatethecostofNew

YorkCity'stensofthousandsofannualmarijuanaarrestsishiddenandinaccessible.


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5

Inordertodeterminethecostsofbothcrimeandenforcement,manyresearchershave

soughttomeasurevariouscriminaljusticecosts.Muchofthatworkhasfocusedonprison

expensesandthefinancialcostoflostpropertyandliferesultingfromseriousfelonies.

Howeverinthelasttwentyyearsanumberofresearchershavestudiedpoliceandcourtcostsin

differentstatesandcitiesinordertodeterminethecostsofparticulartypesofcrimes.Theseestimatesvary,withcostsgenerallyincreasingeverywhereovertime.Butthereisconsiderable

agreementandthestudiesconvergeonaminimalpoliceandcourtcostrangeof$1,000to

$2,000ormoreforabasic,custodialmisdemeanorarrestandcourtarraignment.

MarkA.Cohen,aneconomistandveterancriminaljusticeresearcheratVanderbilt

University,whoseworkhasbeenpublishedbytheU.S.NationalInstituteofJustice,hasbeen

examiningthecostsofcrimeandofthecriminaljusticesystemsincetheearly1990s.Aspartof

astudyfortheNationalResearchCouncil,Cohenandothersuseddatafromseveral

jurisdictionsandcalculatedallpoliceandcourtcoststobeabout$2,000forarapearrest,about

$1,100forarobberyarrest,andabout$1,200foranaggravatedassaultarrestin1987dollars.5

Severalotherstudieshaveproducedroughlycomparablefigures.Inevaluatingcriminal

justiceandmandatorysentencingcostsinCaliforniafortheRandCorporation,Greenwoodand

hiscoauthorsestimated$624inpolicecostsand$1,100intotalcourtcostsperarrestin1993

dollars.6AstudybyMasseyaboutcontrollingillegalimmigrationfoundthecostofonearrestat

thebordertobe$1,700in2002.7ArecentdetailedstudyofdiversionprogramsintheSan

Antoniometropolitanarea,byTheResearchTriangleInstitute,reportedthecostofanarrest

from"theinitialpeaceofficerinteractionthroughbooking"tobe$2,860in2007dollars.8

Thepremierstudyofthecostsofarrestsandprosecutionsisa180pagereport,The

ComparativeCostsAndBenefitsOfProgramsToReduceCrime.Itwaspreparedin2001byAos,

Phipps,Barnoski,andLiebfortheWashingtonStateInstituteforPublicPolicy.Thestudycalculatedaveragepoliceandcourtcostsperarrestforanumberofcrimecategoriesinall

jurisdictionsinthestateofWashington.9Thecostofonearrestformurderwasthemost

expensivefollowed,indecliningorder,byarrestsforrape,robbery,aggravatedassault,

propertycrime,drugcrime,andmisdemeanors.Aosandhisteamfoundthatthetotalpolice

costsforapropertycrimeordrugcrimewere$1,890anarrest,andthecourtcostswere$1,670

equaling$3,560totalcostsperarrest(excludingjailandprisonexpenses).

Foramisdemeanorarrest,suchasamarijuanapossessionarrest,policecostswere

$764andthecourtcostswere$336,foratotalof$1,100in1995dollars.(SeeAppendixfora

copyofthecoststablefromthereport.)Thiswouldbeover$1,500in2010dollarsin

WashingtonState.SincethecostoflivingishigherinNewYorkCity,itseemsreasonableto

concludethatthepoliceandcourtcostsforasinglemisdemeanormarijuanaarrestinNewYork

Cityisbynowatleast$1,500toover$2,000.Thiscoversallpolicetimeincludingovertimepay

forarrestingofficersandsupervisors,allprearraignmentjailcosts,andallcourtexpenses.10For

2010thisworksouttoatleast$75million.


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6

Usingthreedifferentcostfiguresproducesthefollowingrangeofestimatesforthe

50,300marijuanapossessionarreststheNYPDmadein2010:

$1,000anarrestX50,300arrests=$50,300,000

$1,500anarrestX50,300arrests=$75,450,000$2,000anarrestX50,300arrests=$100,600,000

ItisfairtosaythatNewYorkiscurrentlyspendingfrom$50milliontoover$100millionayear

toarrestandprocesspeoplesimplyforpossessingsmallamountsofmarijuana.11

Inthelastfifteenyears,from1996through2010,NewYorkCitymadeatotalof

536,0000arrestsforpossessingsmallamountsofmarijuana.Usingtheabovefiguresproduces

thefollowingrange:

$1,000perarrestX536,000arrests=$536,000,000$1,500perarrestX536,000arrests=$804,000,000

$2,000perarrestX536,000arrests=$1,072,000,000

Sofar,NewYorkCitysmarijuanaarrestcrusadehascostfromfivehundredmillionto

overabilliondollars.Andthesehundredsofthousandsofmanufacturedmarijuanaarrestsand

jailingshavefallenoverwhelminglyonpeopleleastabletodefendthemselvesagainstthe

onslaughtyoung,lowincomeblacksandLatinos.

IsthishowthecitizensofNewYorkwanttheirtaxdollarsspent?InthemidstofNew

York'ssevereeconomiccrisis,whenschools,healthcareandotheressentialservicesarebeing

cut,isthisthebestuseof$75millionormoreayear?

NYCAugust2007

KenSteinatFlickr.com

FriskonAmsterdamAve

EdSternatFlickr.comAtManhattanPoliceStation,2008

EdSternatFlickr.com


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7

Appendix:HumanCostsofthe

MarijuanaPossessionArrests

The50,300marijuanapossessionarreststheNYPDmadein2010,andthe536,000

marijuanaarrestsmadesince1996,donotreduceseriouscrimeorviolence,butthearrestsare

veryusefulforsignificantgroupswithinthepolicedepartment.12Thearrestsarerelativelysafe

andeasy,providetrainingforrookiepolice,andallowpatrolandnarcoticsofficersandtheir

supervisorstomakeovertimepay.Theyproducerecordsofpoliceactivityandhelpsupervisors

keeptrackofwhatofficersaredoing.ThearrestsarealsothemosteffectivewayfortheNYPD

tocollectfingerprints,photographsandotherinformationonyoungpeoplenotyetenteredin

thecriminaldatabases.TheusefulnessofthearrestswithintheNYPDhelpsexplainwhythe

departmentrefusestodiscussitsmarijuanapossessionarrests,sometimesdeniestheyare

goingon,andwhyittriestodivertattentionawayfromthemandtheircosts.13

ThefinancialcostsofthearrestsarefootedbyNewYork'staxpayers.Thehumancosts

arebornealmostentirelybyblackandLatinoteenagersandyoungmen,andtheirfamilies.The

policepatrolsandmorethan500,000annualrecordedstopandfrisksareconcentratedintheir

neighborhoods.Theseyoungpeoplearetheonesstopped,searched,foundpossessing

marijuana,arrested,andjailedovernightattherateofnearlyathousandaweekin2010even

thoughtheyusemarijuanaatlowerratesthanyoungwhites.Thepeoplearrestedendurean

unpleasant,scaryandhumiliatingordeal.Whileunderarresttheymissschool,family

responsibilitiesandworkwhichsometimescoststhemtheirjobs.Theyaresubjectedtouptoa

year'sprobationbythecriminalcourt,andtheirpersonalinformationispermanentlyentered

intothenationalnetworkofcriminaldatabases.

Apermanentcriminalrecordisthemostenduringandleastrecognizedopportunity

harmingcostofthesearrests.Twentyyearsago,misdemeanorarrestandconvictionrecords

werepaperskeptincourtstoreroomsandwarehouses,oftenimpossibletolocate.Tenyears

agotheywerecomputerized.NowtheyareinstantlysearchableontheInternetfor$20to$40

throughcommercialcriminalrecorddatabaseservices.AsimpleGooglesearchforthephrase

'criminaldatabase'or'criminalrecords'producesnumerouslinkstofirms,someclaimingthat

theirsearchesarebetterthantheothers.Someoffer"50statesearches"foraslowas$12.95.14

Employers,landlords,creditagencies,licensingboardsfornursesandbeauticians,

schools,andbanksnowroutinelysearchthesedatabasesforbackgroundchecksonapplicants.

Asimplearrestformarijuanapossessioncanshowuponcriminaldatabasesas"adrugarrest"

withoutspecifyingthesubstance,thecharge,orevenifthepersonwasconvicted.Employers

andlandlords,facedwithanabundanceofapplicants,ofteneliminatethosewithcriminal

arrestrecords,especiallyfordrugs.Nurses,securityguards,andotherslicensedbythestatecan

losetheirlicensesandtheirjobsfromjustonemisdemeanormarijuanaarrest.15

Forlegalimmigrants,twoguiltypleastomisdemeanormarijuanapossessioncanleadto

deportation,andoneguiltypleacanbarsomeonefromeverreturningtotheU.S.Familycourt

canremovechildrenfromahomebecauseaparentisconvictedorjustarrestedformarijuana


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8

possession.Apersoncannotbeconsideredforpublichousingwithan"opencriminalcase."

includingthetypicalprobationforafirsttimearrestformarijuanapossession.

Policepatrolsandstopandfriskstargettheneighborhoodsoflowincomepeopleof

color,butnotthepredominatelywhiteandhigherincomeneighborhoods.Asaresult,dayafter

dayandyearafteryear,theNYPDdisproportionatelyarrestsyoungblacksandLatinosfor

possessingmarijuanaeventhoughtheyusemarijuanaatlowerratesthanwhites.

Thecollateralconsequencesofhavingacriminalrecorddisruptlivesandlimitthe

opportunitiesoftensofthousandsofyoungNewYorkerscaughtupintheNYPDsmarijuana

arrestcrusade.Thecriminalrecordsseriouslyaffecttheyoungpeoples'positionwithregardto

employment,housing,schooling,credit,occupationallicensing,familycourt,immigration

status,andothercentralareasoflife.Inthelongrunthearrestsincreaseunemployment,

interferewithschooling,breakupfamilies,createresentmenttowardthepolice,increase

inequality,andlikelyincreasethecommissionofmoreseriouscrimes.Theyalsoincreasepublic

costsandreducethechancesthatpeoplearrestedwillforgesuccessfullivesandcareersand

earnsteadyincomescontributingtothetaxbaseofNewYorkCityandState.16

ForthepeoplearrestedandforallNewYorkers,thesemarijuanaarrestsarealoselose

proposition.

NOTES

1ForresearchandscholarlyreportsonNewYorkCity'smarijuanaarrestssee:

HarryG.LevineandDeborahPetersonSmall,MarijuanaArrestCrusade:RacialBiasandPolicePolicy,1997

2007,NewYorkCivilLibertiesUnion,NY,April2008.http://www.nyclu.org/files/MARIJUANAARRESTCRUSADE_Final.pdf

HarryG.Levine,"NewYorkCity'sMarijuanaArrestCrusade...Continues"NewYork:Sept2009.At:http://dragon.soc.qc.cuny.edu/Staff/levine/NYCMARIJUANAARRESTCRUSADECONTINUESSEPT2009.pdfAndrewGolub,BruceD.Johnson,andEloiseDunlap,Smokingmarijuanainpublic:thespatialandpolicy

shiftinNewYorkCityarrests,19922003,HarmReductionJournal3:22,2006.Availableat:http://www.harmreductionjournal.com/content/pdf/14777517322.pdf.

AndrewGolub,BruceD.Johnson,andEloiseDunlap.TheRace/ethnicityDisparityInMisdemeanor

MarijuanaArrestsInNewYorkCity,CriminologyandPublicPolicy6:1pp131163,2007

ThelegislativeintentintroductiontoTheMarijuanaReformActof1977aspassedbytheNewYorkState

SenateandAssembly,andsignedbytheGovernorsays:

"Thelegislaturefindsthatarrests,criminalprosecutions,andcriminalpenaltiesare

inappropriateforpeoplewhopossesssmallquantitiesofmarijuanaforpersonaluse.Every

year,thisprocessneedlesslyscarsthousandsoflivesandwastesmillionsofdollarsinlaw

enforcementresources,whiledetractingfromtheprosecutionofseriouscrimes."Chapter360oftheLawsofNewYork,"CrimesandOffensesPossessionandSaleofMarijuana"


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9

BruceD.Johnson,AndrewGolub,EloiseDunlap,StephenJ.Sifaneck,JamesE.McCabe,"PolicingandSocial

ControlofPublicMarijuanaUseandSellinginNewYorkCity,"LawEnforcementExecutiveForum,2006,6(5)

ForasampleofthejournalismandcoverageofNewYorkCity'smarijuanaarrestssee:

JimDwyer,"OnArrests,Demographics,andMarijuana"NewYorkTimes,April30,2008;NatHentoff,"The

NYPD'sSecretCrusadeAgainstMarijuanaFurthersaRacistAgenda"TheVillageVoiceMay6,2008;SeanGardiner,"Marijuana"in"Hooked:FourDecadesOfDrugWarInNewYorkCity"CityLImitsMagazine.

July2009;MarcJacobson,"TheSplittingImageofPot."NewYorkMagazine,Sept21,2009;JasonFink,

"Marijuanahighoncityshitlist:NYPDbustingthousandsamiddrugdebate"AMNY.Sept14,09;

JimDwyer,"WhitesSmokePot,butBlacksAreArrested"NewYorkTimes.Dec22,2009;CharlesM.Blow,

"SmokeandHorrors"NewYorkTimes.Oct22,2010.

2

In1977NewYorkStatepassedtheMarijuanaReformActcreatingtheviolationofmarijuanapossession,

NYSPenalLaw221.05,withahundreddollarfine,andcreatingthemisdemeanorof221.10whichmakesita

crimetopossessmarijuana"burningoropentopublicview."ThisisdiscussedinLevineandSmall,

MarijuanaArrestCrusade,Ch5.DropsyArrests:HowPotInAPocketBecomesMarijuana'BurningOrOpen

ToPublicView'.pp.3844.Asthegraphsanddatainthisdocumentshow,beginningin1996andcontinuing

tothisday,theNYPDhasfocuseditsenforcementonsimplepossession,especiallyamongteenagersandyoungpeople,theexactoppositeofwhatthe1977lawintended.For15years,thesearrestshaveclearly

beentheresultofNYPDpolicycomingfromthehighestlevelsofcommand.

3Inmostcasesthepeoplearrestedreceivedakindofprobationforsixmonthstoayear,sothatthe

immediatepunishmentisusuallythearrestanddetentionitself.However,seetheAppendixforabrief

discussionofthemoresevereandlongertermconsequencesofthecriminalrecordcreatedbythearrest.

4Allthearrestfigurespresentedhereareforthelowestlevelmisdemeanormarijuanapossessionoffense

221.10intheNewYorkStateCriminalCode.Thedetailsofhowthesearrestsaremadearedescribedina

varietyofplaces,seeespeciallyHarryLevineandDeborahSmall,MarijuanaArrestCrusade(citedabove).It

isimportanttounderstandthatmostofthepeoplearrestedhadnotbeensmokinginpublicorrevealingthe

marijuanabeforetheywerestoppedbythepolice.Mosthadthemarijuanainapocket,backpackorpurse.

Theywerestoppedaspartofthecity'shugenumberofstopandfrisks,whichincludesover500,000officiallyrecordedonesandperhapsanequallylargenumberforwhichstopandfriskformsareneverfilledout,

especiallyforthemarijuanaandotherdrugpossessionarrests.From19782001,underMayorsKoch,

DinkinsandGiuliani,theNYPDmade230,300ofthesemarijuanapossessionarrests.From20022010under

MayorBloomberg,thepolicehavemade349,100oftheselowestlevelmarijuanapossessionarrests.

5MarkA.Cohen,TheCostsofCrimeandJustice.NewYork:Routledge,2005,pp.845;andMarkA.Cohen,

MeasuringtheCostsandBenefitsofCrimeandJustice.pp.263316inVolume4:Measurementand

AnalysisofCrimeandJustice,NationalInstituteofJustice,July2000,NCJ182411.Availableat:

http://www.ncjrs.org/criminal_justice2000/vol_4/04f.pdf.p.297.Cohen,M.,Miller,T.,andRossman,S."Thecostsand

consequencesofviolentbehaviorintheUnitedStates."InRoth,A.(Ed.),UnderstandingAndPreventing

Violence(Vol.4,pp.67166).Washington,D.C.:NationalAcademyPress.1994.Thepoliceandcourtcosts

fromearlieryearscanbecalculatedintermsoflateryearswithabasiccostoflivingcalculatorforexample

see:http://www.aier.org/research/worksheetsandtools/costoflivingcalculator6PeterW.Greenwoodetal."ThreeStrikesandYou'reOut:EstimatedBenefitsandCostsofCalifornia'sNew

MandatorySentencingLaw,"RandCorporation,SantaMonica,CA.1994.p.15;also:C.PeterRydelland

SusanS.Everingham,ControllingCocaine:SupplyVersusDemandPrograms,RandCorporation,Santa

Monica,CA.1994.Theycalculatedthatthecourtcostspernarcoticsarrestwas$1166in1990.


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10

7DouglasS.Massey,BackfireattheBorder:WhyEnforcementwithoutLegalizationCannotStopIllegal

Immigration,CatoInstitute,Washington,D.C,June2005,p.8.

8"ACostAnalysisoftheBexarCounty,Texas,JailDiversionProgramReport2:AnAnalysisofCostShifting

betweentheTreatmentandCriminalJusticeSystems"PreparedbyAlexanderJ.Cowelletal.RTI

International,ResearchTrianglePark,NC(p.37page36ofthepdf.)May2008.At:http://www.naco.org/programs/csd/documents/criminal%20justice/jail%20diversion%20forum%20materials/cost%20benefit%20study.pdf.Forarecent

reviewofstudiesofpoliceandcourtcostssee:JonathanP.Caulkins,CostofMarijuanaProhibitiononthe

CaliforniaCriminalJusticeSystem,RandCorporation,SantaMonica,August2010.At:

http://www.rand.org/pubs/working_papers/2010/RAND_WR763.pdf.Californiaissuessummonsanddoesnotroutinely

makecustodialarrestsformarijuanapossession;thissignificantlyreducesthepolicecostsper"arrest.'

9SteveAos,PollyPhipps,RobertBarnoski,RoxanneLiebet.TheComparativeCostsandBenefitsofPrograms

toReduceCrime,(Version4),WashingtonStateInstituteforPublicPolicyOlympia,Washington,May2001.

180pages.SeeTableIVD,EstimatesofMarginalResourceOperatingCosts,PerUnit,P.85At:http://www.wsipp.wa.gov/pub.asp?docid=01051201,andat:http://www.wsipp.wa.gov/rptfiles/costbenefit.pdf

10Inrecentyears,aboutfourteenpercentofallarraignmentsinNewYorkCitywereformarijuana

possession,andthechiefarraignmentcourtsroutinelyhaveatleastadozenpeopledoingvariousjobsinthe

courtroom,includingclerks,legalaidattorneys,prosecutorsandstaff,fourormorepoliceofficers,some

assignedfulltimetothecourt,andotherofficestaffnotpresentinthecourtrooms.

ThebasicarrestsfiguresforNewYorkCityandforothercountiesinNewYorkStateareavailablefromthe

DivisionofCriminalJusticeServicesat:http://criminaljustice.state.ny.us/crimnet/ojsa/stats.htm.Theadultarrest

figuresareat:http://criminaljustice.state.ny.us/crimnet/ojsa/arrests/index.htm,andthefiguresforNewYorkCity2001

through2010areat:http://criminaljustice.state.ny.us/crimnet/ojsa/arrests/NewYorkCity.pdf.Theaboveshowsthat

in2010,NewYorkCitymade:343,308totalarrests;92,139felonyarrests;251,169misdemeanorarrests.In

2010,NewYorkCitymade50,383misdemeanormarijuanapossessionarrests.Thiswas14.7%ofallarrests

and20.1%ofallmisdemeanorarrestsin2010.

11

Inrecentyears,thebudgetfortheNewYorkPoliceDepartmentalonehasbeenaboutfourbilliondollarsayear.Although$50millionto$100millionayearisnotalargeportionofthetotalpolicebudget,evenin

NewYorkCitythatisaconsiderableamountofpublicmoney.

12

Intheir2007studyoftheeffectofthemarijuanapossessionarrestsonreducingcrimeinNewYorkCity,

HarcourtandLudwig,twoUniversityofChicagoresearchers,foundthattheNYPD'smisdemeanormarijuana

arrestsdonotreducecrimeandmayevenincreaseitbytakingofficersoffthestreet.Theywrite:

[NewYorkCitys]experimentwithmisdemeanorMPV[marijuanapossession]arrestsalongwithall

theassociateddetentions,convictions,andadditionalincarcerationsrepresentsatremendously

expensivepolicingintervention....Ourstudyfurthershowsthatthereisnogoodevidencethatit

contributedtocombatingseriouscrimeinthecity.Ifanything,ithashadthereverseeffect.Asaresult,

theNYPDpolicyofmisdemeanorMPV[marijuanapossession]arrestsrepresentsanextremelypoor

tradeoffofscarcelawenforcementresources.

See:BernardE.HarcourtandJensLudwig,"ReeferMadness:BrokenWindowsPolicingandMisdemeanor

MarijuanaArrestsinNewYorkCity,19892000",CriminologyandPublicPolicy6:1pp165182,2007.

Availableat:http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=948753.

13Theusefulnessofthemarijuanapossessionarrestswithinthepolicedepartmentisdiscussedmostfullyby

LevineandSmall,MarijuanaArrestCrusade,NYCLU,2008,citedinnote#1.Thefactthatthemarijuana

possessionarrestsdonotreducecrime,andprobablyincreasecrimeabit,isdiscussedbyHarcourtand


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11

Ludwig,2007,citedinnote#9.AnexampleofthechiefNYPDspokesmancasuallydismissingthemarijuana

arrestswasinresponsetoaquerybyareporteratAMNYwhohadpersonallyobtainedthemisdemeanor

arrestdatafromNewYorkState.Inresponse,PaulJ.Brownesaidonlythatthearreststatisticswere

"bogus."JasonFink,"Marijuanahighoncityshitlist:NYPDbustingthousandsamiddrugdebate"AMNY.

Sept14,2009,at:http://dragon.soc.qc.cuny.edu/Staff/levine/NYPotArrests/AMNYHIGHCRIMESSept142009.pdf.

14Thisdiscussionofthedamagingeffectsofcriminalrecordsformarijuanapossessionisbasedonour

ongoingresearchinNewYork,California,andelsewhereintheU.S.Foranoverviewofthespreadand

dangersoftheonlinecriminaldatabasessee:Hon.CynthiaDianeStephens,"KeepinganArrestfrom

ResultinginaLifeSentence."MichiganBarJournal,Nov2008.http://www.michbar.org/journal/pdf/pdf4article1433.pdf

15

DuringamajorhearingoftheJudiciaryCommitteeoftheU.S.HouseofRepresentatives,Representative

SteveCohenfromMemphisrepeatedlytermedthestigmatizingeffectsofcriminalrecordsformarijuana

possessionatypeof"scarletletter."See:"UnfairnessInFederalCocaineSentencing:IsItTimeToCrackThe

100To1Disparity?"HearingBeforeTheCommitteeOnTheJudiciaryHouseOfRepresentatives.May21,

2009.Pages1920.At:http://judiciary.house.gov/hearings/printers/111th/11127_49783.PDF.

Onthelifedamagingeffectsofdrugarrestsalsosee:MichelleAlexander,TheNewJimCrow:Mass

IncarcerationintheAgeofColorblindness.NewPress,2009.

16Foranexcellent,detaileddiscussionofthemanycostsandcollateralconsequencesofpolicingfocusedon

misdemeanorarrestssee:BabeHowell,"BrokenLivesfromBrokenWindows:TheHiddenCostsofAggressive

MisdemeanorPolicing."NewYorkUniversityReviewofLawandSocialChange,Vol.33,No.3,2008.At:http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=130711

MarijuanaPossessionArrestsinNewYorkCitybyRace,19962010TotalArrests Whites Latinos Blacks Allothers

1996 9,433 1,289 14% 2,975 32% 5,086 54% 83 1%

1997 17,992 2,548 14% 5,626 31% 9,604 53% 214 1%

1998 32,936 4,861 15% 10,636 32% 17,060 52% 379 1%

1999 33,819 4,645 14% 11,841 35% 16,900 50% 433 1%

2000 51,267 6,590 13% 17,363 34% 26,670 52% 644 1%

2001 41,521 5,557 13% 12,860 31% 22,544 54% 560 1%

2002 44,111 6,324 14% 13,929 32% 22,949 52% 909 2%

2003 39,213 5,250 13% 12,254 31% 20,690 53% 1,019 3%

2004 27,944 2,468 9% 9,597 34% 15,310 55% 569 2%

2005 29,752 2,355 8% 9,998 34% 16,605 56% 794 3%

2006 31,925 2,584 8% 10,564 33% 17,990 56% 787 3%

2007 39,156 3,387 9% 13,114 34% 21,581 55% 1,074 3%

2008 40,383 3,959 10% 13,406 33% 21,954 54% 1,064 3%

2009 46,487 4,658 10% 15,291 33% 25,329 54% 1,209 3%

2010 50,383 5,493 11% 16,123 32% 27,177 54% 1,590 3%

9610 536,322 61,968 12% 175,577 33% 287,449 54% 11,328 2%

Source:NewYorkStateDivisionofCriminalJusticeServices,ComputerizedCriminalHistorySystem(Feb2011).Includesall

fingerprintablemisdemeanorarrestsforNYSPenalLawArticle221.10asthemostseriouschargeinanarrestevent.Ages16and

older.Thesetablesshowonlythelowestlevelmisdemeanormari uana ossessionarrestsandchar es.


12/13

12


13/13

__________________________________________________________________________________________

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

2002-03 2004-05 2006 2007 2002-03 2004-05 2006 2007 2002-03 2004-05 2006 2007

Ever Used Marijuana in Life Used Marijuana in Past Year Used Marijuana in Past Month

Whites Blacks Latinos

0

2,500

5,000

7,500

10,000

12,500

15,000

17,500

20,000

22,500

25,000

27,500

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Blacks Latinos Whites

MarijuanaUsebyWhites,BlacksandLatinos, Ages18to25,20022007

Source:USDeptHHS,SAMHSA,OfficeofAppliedStudies,NationalSurveyonDrugUseandHealth,20022007

20032005.Table1.80BMarijuanaUseinLifetime,PastYear,andPastMonthamongPersonsAged18to25,byRacial/EthnicSubgroups:

Percentages,AnnualAveragesBasedon20022003and20042005.

http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/NSDUH/2k5NSDUH/tabs/Sect1peTabs67to132.htm#Tab1.80B.

20062007:Table1.26BMarijuanaUseinLifetime,PastYear,andPastMonthamongPersonsAged18to25,2006and2007

http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/NSDUH/2k7NSDUH/tabs/Sect1peTabs1to46.htm#Tab1.26B

MarijuanaArrestsofBlacks,LatinosandWhitesinNYC,19962010

Source:NewYorkStateDivisionofCriminalJusticeServices,ComputerizedCriminalHistorySystem(Feb2011).Includesallfingerprintablemisdemean

arrestsforNYSPenalLawArticle221.10asthemostseriouschargeinanarrestevent.Ages16andolder.Thesetablesshowonlythelowestlevel

misdemeanormarijuanapossessionarrestsandcharges.

HarryG.Levine,SociologyDepartment,QueensCollegeandtheGraduateCenter,CityUniversityofNewYork.Feb2011

nyc pot busts: $75 million a year

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