Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez today announced that prosecution of low-level marijuana offenses in Brooklyn plummeted by over 90% between January and June of 2018 as his office expanded its policy of declining to prosecute simple possession cases to include cases of smoking in public.
The declining rate of prosecution has been rising steadily to over 70% of cases, correlating with a decline in arrests, which were cut by more than 60% over this time period.
“Aggressive enforcement and prosecution of personal possession and use of marijuana does not keep us safer, and the glaring racial disparities in who is and is not arrested have contributed to a sense among many in our communities that the system is unfair. This in turn contributes to a lack of trust in law enforcement, which makes us all less safe. That is why, earlier this year, we expanded our existing non-prosecution policy to include smoking cases,” said Gonzalez.
Given the success of the pilot expansion of the policy, Gonzalez announced that his office will continue to decline to prosecute all but the most egregious examples of such offenses – when an individual is posing a threat to public safety.
The new pilot policy started before the city announced its intent to ask the NYPD to begin issuing criminal summonses, instead of making arrests, in most low-level marijuana cases and before the NYPD outlined its revised enforcement policy that is set to take effect this fall. The success of the DA’s policy indicates that these enforcement changes can be made without jeopardizing public safety.
“That pilot policy proved to be effective in dramatically reducing the number of low-level marijuana cases processed in court, freeing resources and strengthening trust in the justice system. I intend to maintain this approach and to only prosecute the most egregious offenses, which will help ensure fairness and equal justice,” said Gonzalez.
Gonzalez said that starting in the spring of 2018, his office gradually expanded its policy of not prosecuting low-level marijuana possession cases to include cases involving smoking in public, which are charged under the same statutes (PL 221.10 and 221.05).
The only individuals currently prosecuted for these offenses are those who are posing a threat to public safety (e.g. driving with burning marijuana), are creating a genuine nuisance (e.g. smoking on public transportation or in a schoolyard where children are exposed to smoke) or are involved in violent criminal activity (i.e. “drivers of crime”), said Gonzalez.
The new pilot policy started before the City announced its intent to ask the NYPD to begin issuing criminal summonses, instead of making arrests, in most low-level marijuana cases and before the NYPD outlined its revised enforcement policy that is set to take effect this fall.
The success of the DA’s policy indicates that these enforcement changes can be made without jeopardizing public safety. The DA’s office predicts that the number of prosecuted cases will be reduced further once the NYPD implements its new protocols.
