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This is a public topic in the grup: Missoula
Initiative #2:
# Recommends smarter spending on Missoula County law enforcement " to make adult marijuana offenses the lowest priority and instead focus first and foremost on violent crimes that threaten lives and property " like rapes, assaults, robberies and burglaries.
# Creates a citizen oversight committee " to report annually on how much time and taxpayer money was spent on adult marijuana offenses as compared to serious crimes that threaten community safety.
# Common sense, fiscally conservative law enforcement priorities to make Missoula County safer.
# No new expenses, no effect on federal funding " but more sensible priorities and more information about law enforcement spending will be available to taxpayers. In Seattle, where the Initiative 2 policy has been a requirement since 2003, no federal funding has been lost and adult marijuana arrests have declined 57%.
For more information and details on how you can help, visit:
http://www.responsiblecrimepolicy.org/
http://holotone.net/20...itiative-2/
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1. |
15 votes
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 Yes! 
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2 votes
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No! |
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3. |
2 votes
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*shrug* |
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18 grupies have voted on one or more of the 3 answers. This topic was started by holotone
on November 2nd, 2006. Tags: crime, marijuana
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Comments
I totally agree that it should be lowest priority.
I asked my bro-in-law about this initiative as he is on the Missoula Police Dept. and he says it actually already is lowest priority. He contends that in many un-drug related arrest situations they find marijuana on suspects, and those arrests have, in the past, become (publicity-wise) all about the marijuana not the other criminal merits. I don't have a copy of the "priority handbook" so who knows what it actually says, but his perspective was one that I hadn't heard.
Considering that in 2005 someone was _arrested_ in Missoula County for marijuana every 33 hours, it sounds like the police department's idea of "low priority" doesn't really match up with mine.
There are probably more infractions of marijuana use than rapes, assaults, robberies and burglaries and that's why there are more arrests. Also, I would be willing to bet that in most of those arrests marijuana possession was not the only crime.
Of the 262 folks arrested for marijuana use in Missoula County in 2005 over half were for only a gram or two of marijuana and/or a paraphenalia- meaning that not every arrest deals with more than just marijuana. less than half (130) of the arrests were incidental to another charge. If one looks at the overall stats, for example- of the 700 plus larcenies reported last year only 9% led to an arrest- whereas 57% of all drug reports led to an arrest. 28% of the rapes- 8% of the burglaries- 24% of the vehicle thefts. Seems to me the stats should be flipped.