Sheriff Sadie Darnell| www.alachuasheriff.org | 352-367-4000

Alachua County Sheriff’s Office2013/2014 Marijuana Case Study

THE RESEARCH (by Lt. Kaley Behl)

Sheriff Sadie Darnell| www.alachuasheriff.org | 352-367-4000

Alachua County Sheriff’s Office stand-alone misdemeanor marijuana charges for the 2013 and 2014 calendar years.

This report is also designed to show the costs and time associated with stand-alone misdemeanor marijuana on-

view and warrant arrests.

Gainesville Sun Article October 18, 2014, Page 8A

“…When I did my math, I thought the cost of marijuana was $973,000. I figured reducing her budget by half that amount would be about right because half of the expense was hers and the rest went to the court system and other services.” Hutchinson said.

2013/2014 STAND ALONE MISDEMEANOR CHARGES

Sheriff Sadie Darnell| www.alachuasheriff.org | 352-367-4000

2013 2014Misdemeanor Marijuana Arrests 22 25Misdemeanor Marijuana Notices to Appear 33 76Misdemeanor Marijuana Sworn Complaints 70 39Misdemeanor Juvenile Civil Citations for Marijuana 11 25Marijuana Cases with Warnings 59 88__

Total Misdemeanor Marijuana Charges/Cases 195 253

Sheriff Sadie Darnell| www.alachuasheriff.org | 352-367-4000

2013 Misdemeanor Marijuana Charges

2014 Misdemeanor Marijuana Charges

Warning vs Arrest

• Of the 448 stand-alone misdemeanor marijuana charges, only 47 arrests were made. In other words, 90% of the time regarding a new law violation, when solely a misdemeanor amount of marijuana was discovered, deputies chose not to arrest, but rather utilized other methods including warnings.

• The decision not to arrest appears closely correlated to the suspect’s cooperation with law enforcement’s investigation, as well as generally small amounts of marijuana discovered at the time of the incident.

Trends

The overall reported crime rate for misdemeanor marijuana possession in Alachua County has risen 23% from 2013 to 2014.

Despite the rise in cases, the arrest rate for misdemeanor marijuana possession remains the same at 10%.

Deputies issued 33% more warnings in 2014 than in 2013.

While the filing of sworn complaints is lower in 2014 than 2013, deputies significantly increased their issuances of notices to appear and juvenile civil citations.

NTA’s, Sworn Complaints, Civil Citations Warnings, Arrests

Misdemeanor Marijuana Arrests

Misdemeanor Marijuana Notices to Appear

Misdemeanor Marijuana Sworn Complaints

Misdemeanor Marijuana Juvenile Civil Citations

Misdemeanor Marijuana Warnings

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

20132014

2013 Costs of All Stand-Alone Misdemeanor Marijuana Arrests

2013 Total Costs of Misdemeanor Marijuana Arrest Investigations $2,573.25

2013 Total Costs of Misdemeanor Marijuana Arrest Incarceration $10,793.43

2013 Total Investigation and Incarceration Costs for Arrests $13,366.68

2014 Costs of All Stand-Alone Misdemeanor Marijuana Arrests

2014 Total Cost of Misdemeanor Marijuana Arrest Investigations $2,947.73

2014 Total Costs of Misdemeanor Marijuana Arrest Incarceration $17,750.25

2014 Total Investigation and Incarceration Costs for Arrests $20,697.98

Warrant Arrests

• Of the 75 misdemeanor warrant arrests in 2013 and 89 in 2014, over 50% of the warrants were issued for defendants who failed to appear in court.

• Other reasons included violations of probation, home detention or conditions of pre-trial release.

2013 Explanation of Warrant2013 Misdemeanor Marijuana Warrant Issuance Reasons

Summons Returned Unexecuted (13%)Failure to Appear in Court (51%)Violations of Probation/Home Detention (28%)Court Orders (8%)

2014 Explanation of Warrant2014 Misdemeanor Marijuana Warrant Issuance Reasons

Summons Returned Unexecuted (6%)Failure to Appear in Court (64%)Violations of Probation/Home Detention (22%)Court Orders (8%)

Warrant Arrests1. The Alachua County Sheriff’s Office was not necessarily involved in the

generation of the initial case in which a warrant was issued.

2. The Alachua County Sheriff’s Office was not responsible for the reasons that warrants were issued which ultimately lead to the defendant’s incarceration on the warrant.

3. The Alachua County Sheriff’s Office was not necessarily involved in the physical arrest which led to the defendant being brought to the jail.

4. The high amount of jail time received in cases which contained warrant issuances also appeared to be correlated to the defendant’s significant criminal history, violation of probation or conditions of pre-trial release or risk of flight for failing to appear in court.

2013 Warrants Cases

Origin of 2013 Alachua County Misdemeanor Marijuana Warrants

ASO (32%)GPD (55%)Other Agency (13%)

2014 Warrants Cases

Origin of 2014 Alachua County Misdemeanor Marijuana Warrants

ASO (21%)GPD (71%)Other Agency (8%)

THANK YOU ANY QUESTIONS?