cannabisnews.com: Cop Wants To Fine -- Not Jail -- Potheads 





Cop Wants To Fine -- Not Jail -- Potheads 
Posted by CN Staff on September 20, 2004 at 07:29:34 PT
By Frank Main, Crime Reporter
Source: Chicago Sun-Times 
Could pot smokers help solve Chicago's budget woes? A Chicago Police sergeant thinks so -- and his plan is getting serious attention from the department's top brass.Tom Donegan, a sergeant in the Wentworth District on the South Side, was fed up with making arrests for small amounts of marijuana -- only to see judges dismiss the charges. The last straw was when a convicted drug dealer's case was dropped.
So he drew up a proposal for Chicago to write tickets for people caught with small amounts of marijuana -- instead of locking them up. Donegan estimates the city could have raised nearly $5 million in fines in 2003 alone, based on court records he obtained."The argument that always comes up is that this involves decriminalizing marijuana," he said. "This proposal is not about decriminalizing marijuana. Rather, this proposal will increase the number of people who are actually penalized for their possession of lesser amounts of cannabis."Donegan sent his seven-page proposal to police Supt. Phil Cline and other top city officials last week. Cline is having his chief of staff review the document, said police spokesman David Bayless.Donegan obtained court records showing that 94 percent of the 6,954 marijuana cases involving less than 2.5 grams were dropped in 2003, 81 percent of the 6,945 cases involving 2.5 to 10 grams, and 52 percent of the 1,261 cases involving 10 to 30 grams.On Friday, Cline said he was aware of the high dismissal rate for charges involving small amounts of pot."That's troubling to us," said Cline, a former commander of the narcotics section. "We're looking for a better way to handle it."Even before he received Donegan's proposal, Cline said he had planned to meet with Cook County State's Attorney Richard Devine and E. Kenneth Wright, presiding judge for the First Municipal District, to talk about dismissed narcotics cases."Our goal is to keep officers on the street," Cline said.Donegan said he drew his inspiration from Darien in DuPage County. There, the police have the option of writing tickets for marijuana possession under 30 grams or they can arrest the suspect on a misdemeanor state charge. They've been doing it that way since the late 1970s, said Darien Deputy Police Chief John Cooper."I understand Chicago's predicament," Cooper said. "You have to pay the officer to go to court. It is an expensive process."The village's pot fines -- which range from $75 to $500 -- are handled in traffic court in Downers Grove, a closer drive for Darien officers than the DuPage County courthouse in Wheaton where state charges are handled.People ticketed for pot possession must show up in traffic court to pay their fines, Cooper said. They usually do not challenge the tickets, probably because the offense does not become part of their criminal record, he said.There were 30 such tickets issued last year, Darien police said.If officers catch a repeat drug offender with a small amount of pot, they can make an arrest on a state misdemeanor charge. Cooper said he did not think many of those misdemeanor charges are dropped in the DuPage County court system, unlike in Cook County."But if you get the teenager with a small amount, even residue, you can fine them," he said. "It won't give them a criminal record, but it will teach them a lesson."Donegan suggested Chicago handle fines for marijuana possession through the city's administrative hearing system, which now deals with police citations such as drinking in the public way. He suggested fines of $250 for possession of up to 10 grams of pot, $500 for 10 to 20 grams and $1,000 for 20 to 30 grams."It's an easy program to implement, requiring City Council approval of an ordinance," Donegan said. "It's easy for the street officer to use. It actually penalizes people caught with lesser amounts of cannabis. It removes tens of thousands of cases from the over-burdened Cook County court system. And it raises much-needed revenue for the city."Source: Chicago Sun-Times (IL)Author:  Frank Main, Crime ReporterPublished: September 20, 2004Copyright: 2004 The Sun-Times Co.Contact: letters suntimes.comWebsite: http://www.suntimes.com/CannabisNews -- Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on September 20, 2004 at 07:45:47 PT
Related Article from The Associated Press
Marijuana Could Help City BudgetVIDEO: Pot Smokers May Ease City's Massive Budget Problem:
http://cbs2chicago.com/cooler/local_story_264102645.htmlSeptember 20, 2004 CHICAGO (AP) Chicago police officials are studying a proposal by a street officer that tickets similar to those for traffic offenses be issued to people caught possessing small amounts of marijuana. The Chicago Sun-Times reported in Monday's editions that Chicago Police Supt. Phil Cline was having his chief of staff study the seven-page proposal by Sgt. Tom Donegan Donegan said he has long been fed up with making arrests for possession of small amounts of the drug, only to see judges later drop the charges. He said that court records from last year indicate that 94 percent of the 6,954 Chicago cases involving marijuana amounts smaller than 2.5 grams were dismissed, as were 81 percent of the cases involving from 2.5 to 10 grams. Donegan said assessing fines of $250 for possession of 10 grams or less would have raised $5 million for the city's coffers in 2003. "The argument that always comes up is that this involves decriminalizing marijuana," Donegan said. "This proposal is not about decriminalizing marijuana. Rather, this proposal will increase the number of people who are actually penalized for their possession of lesser amounts of cannabis." Cline did not comment on Donegan's proposal, but said Friday that he was aware of the high dismissal rate for marijuana possession charges. "That's troubling to us," said Cline. "We're looking for a better way to handle it."Copyright: 2004 The Associated Press
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