CGI's oldBuck: Chicago-- 20,082 arrests for possession of
cannabis
In 2011 the Chicago Police Department tallied
95,774 arrests for an estimated 350,374 crimes, which ranged from murders and
shootings to burglaries and assaults, according to city data. That same year,
the Chicago Police Department made 20,082 arrests for possession of cannabis
for amounts under 30 grams. In other words, nearly one out of every five
arrests made by Chicago cops that year involved possession of small amounts
of pot. Aldermen and others argued that the sheer number of pot arrests distracted the department from the city’s ongoing battle against violence. They also weren’t happy that pot arrests disproportionately swept up black youth. In a scathing editorial, Ald. Joe Moreno (1st) claimed “White people smoke marijuana as much as black and Latino people, yet 78% of those arrested in Chicago are minorities. 90% of those convicted are minorities.” And, there was another argument: Ticketing weed-smokers could both save and raise some serious cash. On the savings front, proponents of decriminalizing pot-possession pointed to the cost of arresting and prosecuting offenders. The Chicago Reader reported that Cook County spent nearly $78 million on arrests and prosecutions. All that for questionable results, as the conviction rate was abysmal, even by Mayor Emanuel’s own admission. “We cannot afford to take our officers off the streets for hours at a time only to see over 80 percent of the marijuana cases dismissed in court,” the mayor said after aldermen passed the ticketing amendment last year. Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy estimated that the new ordinance would free up more than 20,000 hours of police time each year, the equivalent of about $1 million in savings, the Chicago Tribune reported. In that same article, the Chicago Tribune said the mayor’s office refused to give an estimate on ticket revenues, but City Hall stressed savings in man-hours and cops’ overtime. The paper, using 2011 data, estimated the city stood to raise anywhere from $4.5 million to $9 million. Alderman Danny Solis (25th) was one of the bill’s sponsors, and argued that the city could take in as much as $7 million. So, as City Hall looked through its crystal ball last summer, it saw a seemingly small change in local pot policy accomplishing quite a bit: the policy would free cops to do more important work, it would put a dent in violence, and it would boost city coffers. But now that real data are trickling in about the policy, maybe that vision was unrealistic. The tally Two sources have been tracking the number of tickets issued for cannabis since last August. The first — the Department of Administrative Hearings — is tasked with handling citations, including ones issued for possession of cannabis. Responding to a WBEZ Freedom of Information Act request, that department said there were 380 tickets issued for cannabis in 2012 between the time the law went into effect and Dec. 31. The other source — the Chicago Police Department — said that total stands at 395. The Department of Administrative Hearings was not immediately available, but here’s a stab at clearing up the discrepancy. The CPD figures are more up to date than those available from DAH (via FOIA) or the city’s data portal site, as the police can access records that contain more refined categories. However, we use the figure of 380 because — as the police department says — after a ticket is issued, tracking is actually up to DAH. The city’s data portal site only lists pot possessions for amounts greater or less than 30 grams, and does not differentiate arrests made for persons possessing under 15 grams, the amount the ordinance sets as the limit that the police can issue tickets. Be sure to go to the site and view the maps http://www.wbez.org/news/has-idea-ticketing-pot-gone-smoke-104861 |
1 comment:
"Don't bogart that joint my friend, pass it over to me!"
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