Please stop arresting people for non-violent crimes of poverty

Dear Prosecutor, Magistrate Judge, and District Judge:

I write to you as a concerned citizen reviewing the arrest list and recent occupants of the Durham County Jail for the last thirty days.

I think jail is on the whole and destructive and ineffective way of dealing with crime for minor, nonviolent crimes. I wish our police would not arrest people for such crimes and would issue citations instead. However, when they bring these cases to you I hope you will think about other ways of dealing with these problems rather than incarceration. Most people who commit crimes are victims of crimes, individual and social, that have led to hard circumstances.

In reviewing the list for the last thirty days, I’ve noted the following cases that seem to illustrate this problem:

·         It is horrible that people should go to jail for minor traffic offenses, particularly driving while license revoked. Jessie and Edwar spent 2 days in jail. Terry spent 9 days in jail. Deonte, Kelly, Keith, Chester, Tracy were arrested for driving while license revoked. Jessie spent time in jail for having no vehicle insurance.

·         Several people were charged with possessing less than half an ounce of marijuana: Maurice, William, Mark, Cortez, Phillip, and Craig.  Terrell spent 4 days in jail for less than half an ounce of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

·         Lamar and David were arrested for possession of drug paraphernalia, but no other drugs.

·         Some people were arrested for resisting arrest, but no other charge. This is often a sign of police misconduct and abuse of authority. Christopher spent 3 days in jail, and Terri spent 5 days in jail for resisting. Others were arrested for resisting arrest, but no other charge including Dereese, Raymond, Benjamin, and Artezra.

·         Some people were arrested for minor theft or shoplifting including, Alvin, Richard, Deon, Malik,    Denise, Hiram, Jase, Dottie, and Wayne. Jerome spent 3 days in jail for shoplifting, and Otha spent 2 days for misdemeanor larceny.

·         Some people were arrested for minor trespass when they could have been given a citation, including James, Lydia, Toriko, Dominic, and May.

·         Joey spent 2 days in jail for consuming a malt beverage on city property

·         Michelle spent 5 days in jail for possession of marijuana and shop lifting

·         It also appears that Christian, a minor, was arrested for disorderly conduct at school. Court referrals from school have increased significantly in the last few years and represent a criminalization of children. We can do better with our kids, and don’t need jail to help them learn and grow into our community.

It is hard to calculate the social cost of sending someone to jail because we do not ask or document whether the person lost a job, lost custody of their kids, failed to make rent, didn’t get a job, got kicked out of school or training. The collateral consequences of incarceration do far more harm than good for these minor-nonviolent offenses.  Also, many of them are related to poverty which suggests that we are criminalizing poverty.

Please encourage police to issue citations if they must bring these cases to court, that is a less harmful and more restorative approach to these kinds of social problems.

Thank you
Scott Holmes