Cannabis Arrests and Compliance Tickets

AI Summary

This November 2019 memorandum from ICMA Management Fellow Shenicka Hohenkirk reports on cannabis arrest and compliance ticket data in Evanston, prepared at Alderman Rue-Simmons' request. Since August 2017, officers have issued Compliance Tickets (C-Tickets) for possession of 10 grams or less of cannabis as ordinance violations rather than custodial arrests, with individuals released on-scene and given administrative hearing dates; possession of 10–30 grams is charged as a misdemeanor and over 30 grams as a felony. Over the preceding 36 months, cannabis arrests showed racial disparity: 71% Black, 15% White, 11% Hispanic, and 3% Asian; C-Tickets similarly showed 57% Black, 21% White, 14% Hispanic, 3% Asian, 4% Unknown, and 1% Indian/Pacific Islander. The Evanston Police Department identified this disproportionate enforcement pattern and responded by ending Stop and Frisk policies in 2018 and discontinuing DDACT (Data-Driven Approaches to Crime and Traffic Safety) saturation strategies in designated deployment areas.