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Under Mayor Rudy Giuliani (January 1994 - December 2001), marijuana possession arrests exploded 10-fold. Under Mayor Michael Bloomberg (January 2002 - present), they're higher than ever. At the same time, New York police provide little information. As a result, few New Yorkers know their city conducts "a historically unprecedented marijuana arrest crusade."
Cops involved up to top commanders benefit. Marijuana busts are safe. Involved officers and supervisors accrue overtime pay, and produce numbers showing productivity.
In contrast, those arrested are harmed even if not prosecuted. Procedures include handcuffing, fingerprinting, photographing, and potentially obtaining DNA samples. Often people with no criminal records are affected. Henceforth they'll have one and plenty of baggage.
Whether or not convicted, employment and educational opportunities, mortgages or other loans, public housing benefits, licenses, travel visas, and good credit standing are at risk.
Moreover, arrests and overnight custody alone are humiliating, degrading, alienating and unjust for possessing small amounts of controlled substances, especially marijuana that long ago should have been legalized.
Last September, New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly responded to public pressure. As a result, he ordered commanders not to arrest people possessing small marijuana amounts unless they're in public view.
In 1979, New York state decriminalized amounts of 25 grams or less. Henceforth, displaying it publicly became low-level misdemeanors, subject to ticketing, not arrests or jailing.
New York City's stop-and-frisk policy drew widespread criticism. Mostly Black and Hispanic males are targeted. Police routinely confront them, demand their pockets be emptied, and if marijuana is displayed, they're arrested for having it in public view. As a result, around 50,000 annually are criminalized unjustly.
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