DALLAS (WBAP/KLIF News) – Cite and Release has been approved in Dallas.
The Dallas County Commissioners Court approved the measure which will allow anyone caught with a misdemeanor amount of marijuana in the city of Dallas to be given a ticket.
Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said the program can be a benefit to both the police department and the community.
“The hope with DPD is that it keeps everyone safer because it keeps more officers on the street. We still are enforcing the marijuana laws. We’re just doing it in a more streamlined way,” he said.
The Dallas Police Department has been dealing with being understaffed over the past year and Jenkins said this program could help ease that burden.
“This allows us a little bit more flexibility in how we utilize our forces in the face of some challenges with our manpower,” he said.
Dallas County District Attorney Faith Johnson said this doesn’t decriminalize the drug.
“There will not be any disparity of treatment between people who come through cite and release or who don’t come through cite and release. The prosecution is still the same,” she said.
No other cities in Dallas County have voted to pass the program.
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