Fort Worth PD stance on HB 2391

I wrote the following email to the Fort Worth Texas Police Dept.:


My name is Leon Jackson, I am the current Public Information Officer for the Dallas / Fort Worth chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML).
I am writing to inquire what stance the Fort Worth Police Department is taking on Texas House Bill 2391 , especially as it pertains to marijuana possession. It was passed by an overwhelming majority in May, signed by Governor Perry in June, and took effect September 1st of this year. This Bill gives officers an option to write a citation instead of arresting for certain misdemeanor charges, including misdemeanor marijuana possession.
I feel that is imperative that we deal with those that commit crimes against persons and property in a way that keeps them off of the street as much as possible. However, I believe those accused of minor marijuana possession pose no threat to either. According to the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI, 2003) more than 95% of all marijuana arrests in Texas are for nothing more serious than simple possession of small amounts of marijuana.
We believe that this Bill will; Save taxpayer money, help alleviate jail overcrowding and free up law enforcement resources to concentrate on more serious, violent crime. However, this can only happen if local officials utilize the option to cite those accused, rather than arrest them.
I realize that the job of the police is a difficult one and that debating the reasoning and efficacy of the law is not part of that. I am not attempting to engage in a debate of either, simply to know your position. I believe that an objective view and implementation of House Bill 2391 will help relieve pretrial congestion, beginning with those who pose the least risk to the greater public good.

Thank you for your time, I will be awaiting your response.

Sincerely,

Leon Jackson
Public Information Officer
NORML of Dallas / Fort Worth


The response:


The Fort Worth Police Department conferred with the Tarrant County District Attorney's Office and determined to continue making custody arrests for marijuana possession.

Leon,
Do you have a counterpart in Mississippi?? How about some contact information please??

Leon, have you gotten any different responses from other good-sized Metroplex police departments? Dallas? Plano? Arlington? I'm eager to hear how they responded to your message. I live in Frisco, and I was talking to a Plano police officer a couple of days ago. They're still making custody arrests in some cases (where other crimes are involved) but are ticketing a lot more, he said, which makes me think the Collin County DA is wisely choosing to devote more time to pursuit of real crimes--or else simply that the Plano PD, which is a fairly forward-thinking organization compared to many PDs, is intelligent enough to devote its energies to other offenses. All the individual police officers I know--and as a former paramedic, I know a good many--have long believed that it should be decriminalized just because it's so prevalent and because they waste so much valuable patrol time on cannabis enforcement when there are much worse problems.