Pubdate: Mon, 19 May 2014
Source: Chicago Sun-Times (IL)
Copyright: 2014 Sun-Times Media, LLC
Contact: http://mapinc.org/url/5QwXAJWY
Website: http://www.suntimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/81

MORE ARRESTS THAN TICKETS FOR POT

Instead of giving out tickets, Chicago police more often than not 
arrest people for possession of a small amount of marijuana, a 
university study finds.

Instead of giving out tickets, Chicago police more often than not 
arrest people for possession of a small amount of marijuana, 
according to a study released Monday by Roosevelt University's 
Illinois Consortium on Drug Policy.

Researchers found that 93 percent of misdemeanor marijuana possession 
violations in 2013 resulted in arrest in Chicago.

That despite the city's 2012 ordinance that allows for tickets to be 
issued for small amounts of marijuana possession.

Researchers analyzed the "pre- and post-ordinance implementation 
arresting patterns" and found "Chicago had the smallest decrease in 
arrests, with arrests declining by only 21 percent."

"Where the rubber hits the road is the practice, and there's a really 
big disconnect between the policy and the practice," said Kathie 
Kane-Willis, the director of the consortium.

But Chicago Police Department spokesman Adam Collins said the 
department is making progress.

"From 2012 to 2013 to the early numbers from 2014, CPD is continuing 
to make progress in implementing the city's cannabis ANOV 
[Administrative Notice of Ordinance Violation] ordinance, and there 
were nearly 5,000 fewer people arrested for low-level cannabis 
possession in 2013 than in 2011," he said in an email. "Like any new 
process, it has taken time to implement the ordinance, and we believe 
there's certainly much more work to be done on full implementation."

In an analysis of Evanston's implementation of its ticketing 
ordinance, the study found arrests for small amounts of marijuana 
decreased by almost 50 percent.

Though Kane-Willis said she "wouldn't give it an A" if she were 
grading Evanston, the police in the northern suburb have made the 
most use of their ordinance, according to the study.

Evanston Police Cmdr. Jay Parrott said this year so far, Evanston 
police have issued 55 tickets and arrested 29 people. Last year 
police there issued 261 tickets and 115 people were charged with possession.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom