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A Possible End to Stop and Frisk May Shine Light During Dark Times in New York

stop and frisk

New Yorkers may have something to look forward to as they clean up the devastating mess left by Sandy.  While by no means do we at marijuana.net want to sugarcoat the impact and seriousness of the situation, we thought residents of New York may want to have their spirits lifted.  Most residents of New York City will be at home or at evacuation centers as the MTA has shut down all bus and subway service and public schools are closed.  New York City’s controversial “Stop and Frisk” policy may be soon coming to an end.

Last year NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly issued a memo to police officers that instructed them not to coerce citizens into taking marijuana out of their pockets so they can be arrested on the “plain view” rule.  Concealed possession (Under 25g) of marijuana is a civil citation ticket, however, when in “plain sight” the charge is escalated to a misdemeanor.  This obviously goes against the spirit of the law.  The city has to spend much more money on processing, incarcerations, and court fees due to additional arrests.  The arrests disproportionately target non whites and teens which has drawn considerable criticism.

Many residents and lawmakers have been fighting to fix the laws for a long time.  The most high profile example comes from New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who is currently putting pressure on state legislators in Albany to fix the law.  Joining the effort is a Bronx DA, Jeannette Rucker, who will not allow “stop and frisk” arrests on public housing property until an interview with the arresting officer is conducted.  The move was in response to mounting complaints that officers are wrongly arresting residents.

The issue of repealing “Stop and Frisk” has taken years to gain momentum.  However, now that the train is moving it may not stop until the policy is fixed.  Besides the Governor’s efforts and the move by Jeannette Rucker, there was a hearing held last week in Brooklyn by City Council members.  The hearing included people who are on both sides of the issue such as members of the NYPD and activists against the policy.  We expect more of these hearings to occur after New York recovers from Hurricane Sandy.  New York City has so much damage to fix immediately, but ending “Stop and Frisk” will help fix problems of the future.

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