CAL
February 24th, 2010, 09:57 AM
I would guess that the main concern here is jail over crowding, not "keeping officers on the street instead of running back and forth from the jail". I guess I wouldn't be opposed to this for driving without a license (first offense), but for theft I still think you should go to jail.
http://www.woai.com/news/local/story/Cite-and-Release-could-start-in-San-Antonio/nTXaW2toAEiD6rwekFDLDw.cspx
Bexar County -- It's called "cite and release", but some see it as a "get out of jail free" card.
A new county program could give small-time violators a ticket and a court date instead of handcuffs and a jail cell.
If your purse is stolen or someone shoplifts from your store, you'd expect them to go to jail. But the county says they want to concentrate on bigger crimes that could cause more damage or more hurt. That's why they want to cite that alleged criminal and let them go.
County leaders say "cite and release" is a program that could save taxpayer money and ease jail overcrowding.
"It keeps the policeman on the street after serious offenders. Rather than running back and forth to the jail all night," County Judge Nelson Wolff told us.
Under the new program a deputy or officer can give someone a citation if they're busted for petty theft or driving with an invalid license. It's like a traffic violation. No one goes to jail. They just get a ticket, a court date and are expected to show up.
Judge Wolff explained, "We should be putting people in jail that are a threat to society. That represent some physical violence or some other threat to you."
The Bexar County Sheriff’s Department supports the idea. But the Bexar County District Attorney’s office and San Antonio police say this program could cause bigger problems.
"We have been opposed to it because of the confirmation of identity,” Assistant District Attorney, Cliff Herberg, told us. “You can have a major criminal hand you a fake id on the side of the road and you've just let a murderer go. That's not safe for the community."
Herberg said these small-time violations often lead to the discovery of bigger crimes. “Cite and release” could send the wrong message to the community.
Cliff Herberg reasoned, "If you want to keep crime down, the punishment for that needs to be something they don't want to have happen to them. And sending them a citation certainly lessens that effect."
County leaders hope to start the cite and release program by the end of the year. It could have included other crimes like graffiti, possession of marijuana and criminal mischief -- but there was simply too much resistance to the idea.
http://www.woai.com/news/local/story/Cite-and-Release-could-start-in-San-Antonio/nTXaW2toAEiD6rwekFDLDw.cspx
Bexar County -- It's called "cite and release", but some see it as a "get out of jail free" card.
A new county program could give small-time violators a ticket and a court date instead of handcuffs and a jail cell.
If your purse is stolen or someone shoplifts from your store, you'd expect them to go to jail. But the county says they want to concentrate on bigger crimes that could cause more damage or more hurt. That's why they want to cite that alleged criminal and let them go.
County leaders say "cite and release" is a program that could save taxpayer money and ease jail overcrowding.
"It keeps the policeman on the street after serious offenders. Rather than running back and forth to the jail all night," County Judge Nelson Wolff told us.
Under the new program a deputy or officer can give someone a citation if they're busted for petty theft or driving with an invalid license. It's like a traffic violation. No one goes to jail. They just get a ticket, a court date and are expected to show up.
Judge Wolff explained, "We should be putting people in jail that are a threat to society. That represent some physical violence or some other threat to you."
The Bexar County Sheriff’s Department supports the idea. But the Bexar County District Attorney’s office and San Antonio police say this program could cause bigger problems.
"We have been opposed to it because of the confirmation of identity,” Assistant District Attorney, Cliff Herberg, told us. “You can have a major criminal hand you a fake id on the side of the road and you've just let a murderer go. That's not safe for the community."
Herberg said these small-time violations often lead to the discovery of bigger crimes. “Cite and release” could send the wrong message to the community.
Cliff Herberg reasoned, "If you want to keep crime down, the punishment for that needs to be something they don't want to have happen to them. And sending them a citation certainly lessens that effect."
County leaders hope to start the cite and release program by the end of the year. It could have included other crimes like graffiti, possession of marijuana and criminal mischief -- but there was simply too much resistance to the idea.