cannabisnews.com: Area Police Use Local Law in Marijuana Cases Area Police Use Local Law in Marijuana Cases Posted by CN Staff on October 21, 2004 at 09:09:22 PT By Ken Goze, Staff Writer Source: Wilmette Life As Chicago mulls over a plan to ticket people caught with small amounts of marijuana, most North Shore police agencies say they have been doing that for nearly 25 years as an alternative to arrests which are often thrown out of state court. Chicago's proposal drew headlines in recent weeks as Mayor Richard Daley - a former prosecutor - gave his tentative blessing to a plan attributed to a police sergeant. "Wilmette has had this ordinance on the books since August of 1978, and we were not a pioneer in this," said George Carpenter, Wilmette police chief. Officers have the option of charging offenders under village ordinance for possession of 10 grams or less of marijuana, and the ticket carries a fine of $100. Tickets can be contested in court, but the standard of proof is lower than in criminal cases, and most people opt to pay the fine. In contrast, traditional criminal arrests requires more time in making an arrest and paperwork and one or more court appearances which are usually paid as overtime for off-duty officers. In a court system where prosecutors and lab technicians are busy with more serious matters, the charges for smaller amounts are often thrown out. "That ordinance has served the village of Wilmette very well throughout all of these years, and it doesn't decriminalize marijuana," Carpenter said. "It's a more sensible and practical approach to minor violations." Kenilworth has a similar local law, and the tickets accounted for 80 to 90 percent of the 20 drug cases handled in the village last year, said Police Chief John Petersen. "It's generally up to the officers discretion as to whether it will be a state charge or not. There would be a lot of factors involved. Usually It's the amount, but occasionally it could deal with the prior record of the individual," Petersen said. Winnetka also has an ordinance which dates back to 1978. Marijuana use was hitting a peak at that time and police found themselves dealing with people who otherwise had no criminal involvement. "In the 1970s and 1980s we were making a lot of drug arrests," said Eric Bennett, Winnetka deputy police chief. "Working an evening shift, when you'd go out, it wasn't if you were going to make a drug arrest, it was how much you were going to find. "It overloaded the court," he added. "If it went to misdemeanor court the judges weren't putting anybody in jail anyway. It was just a fine and maybe supervision and we can do that under an ordinance violation." In Glencoe, virtually all minor possession cases are handled through local charges, said Mikel Milks, director of public safety. That included nine cases in 2003 and 11 through August this year. "If it's under 10 grams, it's always handled that way unless there are some aggravating factors or history of past arrest," Milks said. One perception which sometimes follows officer discretion holds that local residents are more likely to get a fine while others get a state charge, but Milks said that isn't the case in Glencoe. Officers in Glencoe and most nearby communities are happy to use tickets where appropriate because it is much less time-consuming than arrests, which can take hours between paperwork, photographing, fingerprinting and bond arrangements. Northfield does not have a local ordinance option for enforcement, though it is considering a plan to use tickets for the smallest amounts - 2.5 grams or less. Deputy Police Chief Claude Castelleto said charging people with misdemeanors for marijuana possession, where those charged must appear before a judge and may get assigned to drug school, is more likely to teach offenders to steer clear of drugs. If the ordinance were adopted, those who got pinched would still need to appear before a judge, Castelleto said. The agency is studying the issue on the request of area school officials and other advocates. "We're not interested in the money portion of it," he said. "I think our philosophy is the education and prevention." Although police prefer to view the ticket alternative as smart enforcement rather than liberalization, advocates of decriminalization see it as a step in the right direction. In the "zero tolerance" atmosphere of the past 20 years, most politicians and law enforcement officials would not publicly endorse anything that sounded like a retreat in the war on drugs, said Bryan Brickner, chairman of the Illinois chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. "It is kind of a turning point. The conversation is a little different, and we're happy about that. For us the key thing is once we start not putting people in the criminal justice system, that's a step in the right direction. We want the police going after what we call the index crimes, theft and burglary and criminal sexual assault and all those. The ones against people and property." Brickner said he did have concerns that Chicago's plan appears to be focused on generating revenues and that high fines - $250 to $1,000, would fall disproportionately on poor and minority residents.Newshawk: Paul Peterson Source: Wilmette Life (IL)Author: Ken Goze, Staff WriterPublished: October 21, 2004Copyright: 2004 Digital Chicago Inc.Contact: sassone pioneerlocal.comWebsite: http://www.pioneerlocal.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:Illinois NORMLhttp://www.illinoisnorml.org/DecrimWatchhttp://www.decrimwatch.com/Sanity In Chicagohttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19568.shtmlChicago Wants Laissez-Faire Approach To MJhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19554.shtmlPolicing The Pot Patrol http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19536.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #2 posted by paulpeterson on October 22, 2004 at 01:11:13 PT 9 villages and counting so far So far, the Illinois tally is: Wilmette, Kennilworth, Winnetka, Glenview, Niles, Northbrook, Glencoe, Darien and soon Northfield. I spoke with the Cook County States Attorney's office today and they refused to consider cooperating with the City of Chicago on this. However, with a "prosecutorial discretion policy", the police do not even need the coop of the attorneys. I expect more towns will join this effort soon. Anyone that wants further information, contact me at 847-853-4200 (please, don't call me if you are involved in any "enterprise" ie: some bad guys might just follow you home, since I am such an outspoken advocate that is making progress, eh?). PAUL PETERSON [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by ekim on October 21, 2004 at 18:34:52 PT wonder what Obama and Keys have to say about this and the Hemp issue . C-Span had there debate on live at 8pm i did not see it. http://www.aammi.org [ Post Comment ] Post Comment