Pubdate: Mon, 13 Jan 2014 Source: Washington Times (DC) Copyright: 2014 The Washington Times, LLC. Contact: http://www.washingtontimes.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/492 Author: Christopher Neely STATE HIGH ON LIST OF POT POSSESSION ARRESTS Maryland is a state with a serious marijuana arrest problem, according to the FBI's 2011 annual Uniform Crime Report. With 22,043 arrests for marijuana possession producing an arrest rate of 378 people per 100,000, Maryland ranked among the top five in marijuana possession arrests, according to the most recent data available. "I have no idea why these numbers are so high," said state Sen. Bobby Zirkin, Baltimore County Democrat who is an advocate for marijuana decriminalization in Maryland. "The numbers are shocking and staggering." Experts say the numbers are in part the result of the war on drugs being focused on petty marijuana possession arrests starting in the 1990s. Some also attribute much of the increase to then-Baltimore Mayor and now Gov. Martin O'Malley, who helped introduce both statistics-driven policing and zero tolerance policies to the state. Because of issues with reporting statistics to the FBI, it cannot be said for sure where in the top five Maryland ranks. While most states and cities participate, reporting crime statistics is voluntary, and some places choose not to report. From 1990-1999, the same FBI data show the number of marijuana possession arrests in Maryland rose from 6,278 to 16,184, an increase of more than 157 percent. And from 2000-2007, Maryland's overall marijuana possession arrest rate rose by 4,916 arrests per year, or 28 percent statewide. During the same time period, Baltimore's marijuana arrest rate surged by 3,686 arrests per year - more than 155 percent. Mr. O'Malley was elected Baltimore mayor in 1999 after running on an anticrime platform, advocating for "zero tolerance" policing, which was leading to crime reductions in New York City. In an attempt to mirror the reduction, Mr. O'Malley hired Ed Norris, a 20-year veteran of the New York City Police Department. Phyllis McDonald, an associate professor in the Division of Public Safety Leadership at Johns Hopkins University and author of Managing Police Operations: Implementing the New York Crime Control Model - CompStat, said part of the reason Mr. O'Malley brought Mr. Norris in was to set up a CompStat system for Baltimore. This new statistics-driven approach was based on police department accountability and created a mapping system of crime type and location. Mr. O'Malley, committed to the New York technique of crime-fighting, replaced Mr. Norris in 2002 with former NYPD Deputy Chief Kevin Clark. Mr. Clark had been on the department's Organized Crime Control Bureau's Narcotics Division. Neill Franklin, a retired officer of both the Baltimore Police Department and Maryland State Police Department, said Mr. Clark felt strongly about curbing drugs on the street. "I remember him saying that our main crime problem in the streets was drugs and that we were going to hit that hard," Mr. Franklin said. Mr. Franklin said Mr. Clark created the "Organized Crime Division" which was basically a narcotics team of more than 300 officers. Mr. Franklin is now executive director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, a nonprofit organization of current and former law enforcement and criminal justice workers who advocate for changes in current U.S. drug policies. Mr. O'Malley and his new New York City style of crime-fighting watched as Baltimore alone accounted for 75 percent of the increase in the marijuana arrest rate in Maryland. "There is undoubtedly a correlation between higher petty marijuana possession arrest rates and the CompStat and 'zero tolerance' policies brought in by O'Malley," Mr. Franklin said. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom