There’s some relief on the way for people who get busted for offenses like public urination and littering in Manhattan, officials said Tuesday.
Under the terms of a new initiative that takes effect March 7, low-level criminal offenses such as public consumption of alcohol and taking up two seats on the subway for offenders won’t result in arrests or prosecutions — just summonses.
“The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office will no longer prosecute most violations or infractions, and the NYPD will no longer arrest individuals who commit these offenses — such as littering, public consumption of alcohol, or taking up two seats on the subway — unless there is a demonstrated public safety reason to do so,” the agencies said in a joint release with City Hall.
MAYOR DE BLASIO, CITY COUNCIL WORKING ON PLAN TO PURGE NYPD WARRANTS FOR SMALL CRIMES
Those offenses typically don’t result in arrests anyway — unless officers find out the offenders have an open warrant or do not have an ID, in which case they were required to make an arrest.
Under the reforms, offenders with open warrants will still be taken into custody and then to court to answer for the open warrant — but they won’t have to deal with a new criminal case, just a summons.
Offenders who simply didn’t have an ID, meanwhile, will be given time to call someone to the station house with a photo ID before they are arrested.
Officials estimate the move will result in the diversion of 10,000 cases annually that would otherwise have to go through Manhattan Criminal Court.
NYC COUNCIL SPEAKER TO PROPOSE PURGING OLD WARRANTS FOR SMALL CRIMES
“Using summonses instead of arrests for low-level offenses is an intuitive and modern solution that will help make sure resources are focused on our main priority: addressing threats to public safety,” said Mayor de Blasio.
A Daily News analysis published in 2014 showed the overwhelming majority of summonses issued by the NYPD citywide were to black and Latino men. Roughly 81% of the 7.3 million people hit with quality-of-life violations between 2001 and 2013 were black or Hispanic. Alcohol consumption was the most common offense.
Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance Jr. said the move will make sure courts “are not unnecessarily bogged down with minor offenses.”
“By giving cops the discretion to issue summonses instead of requiring them to make arrests, we ensure they do not spend hours processing cases as minor as littering, and we enable officers to get back to patrolling, investigating, and keeping our neighborhoods safe,” the DA said.
SPEAKER MELISSA MARK-VIVERITO DEFENDS PLAN TO DECRIMINALIZE MINOR OFFENSES
Police Commissioner Bill Bratton also hailed the move, saying it will “save valuable police resources.”
“Police officers can now quickly return a person to court on a warrant and, at the same time, adjudicate their current summonsable offense, all without jeopardizing the public safety,” he said.
Both Bratton and the mayor have strongly opposed a bid by City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito to decriminalize the same offenses that will now not be prosecuted.
The agencies’ release noted that “Should an NYPD officer determine that the public is best served by arresting an individual who would ordinarily receive a criminal summons, that officer will still have the option to do so.”
The state’s Chief Administrative Judge, Lawrence K. Marks, called the initiative “a common sense approach that will reduce the borough’s overburdened Criminal Court docket without compromising public safety.”
Robert Gangi of PROP — an advocacy group that’s long called for reforms to the summons system — was unimpressed with the changes.
“It’s at best a tweaking, not a major change,” Gangi said.
With JOHN ANNESE
