Press Release: Drug-Free Zone Reform Legislation Passed by NJ Assembly
[Courtesy of Drug Policy Alliance]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 24, 2008
Contact: Tony Newman at 646-335-5384 or Roseanne Scotti at 609-610-8243
Drug-Free Zone Reform Legislation Passed by New Jersey Assembly
Advocates Applaud Reform Effort and Say New Bill Will Reduce Racial Disparities and Save Taxpayers Money
Trenton, NJâYesterday, the New Jersey Assembly passed compromise legislation to reform the stateâs unfair and ineffective drug-free zone law. The bill, A2762, sponsored by Assemblywoman Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Mercer) and Assemblyman Gordon M. Johnson (D-Bergen) would give judges the discretion not to impose a mandatory minimum sentence under certain circumstances for drug-free zone offenses. The legislation is a compromise introduced to replace an earlier bill that would have reduced the size of the zones to 200 feet.
Roseanne Scotti, director of Drug Policy Alliance New Jersey, called the bill a sensible compromise that would allow for individualized sentences and save taxpayers money. âBasically the current law calls for two different penalties for the same crime with the severity of the penalty based on geography and ultimately on race,â said Scotti. âThe zones blanket our urban areas and as a result, 96 percent of those getting this additional mandatory minimum sentence are African American or Latino.â
In 2002, the New Jersey Commission to Review Criminal Sentencing issued a groundbreaking report on New Jerseyâs âdrug-free zoneâ law. The law basically mandates a three-year mandatory minimum sentence in addition to the penalty for the underlying offense when the drug offense occurs in the zones. The commission found that the zones were completely ineffective in reducing drug offences within the designated areas. In addition the commission found that the law had a severe âurban effectâ that disproportionately affected minority communities.
Because there were so many schools and other public buildings covered by the law in densely populated urban areas, and because the zones overlap one another, most of the area of any densely populated city became one large drug-free zone. Therefore, almost any drug offense in such a city would get the additional mandatory term.
Drug Policy Alliance New Jersey recently released a report, âWasting Money, Wasting Lives: Calculating the Hidden Costs of Incarceration in New Jersey.â The report found that in addition to the approximately $331 million that New Jersey spends each year to incarcerate nonviolent drug offenders, the state loses millions more in taxable income from the lost wages of those incarcerated for nonviolent drug offenses. The loss of taxable income to the state continues even after release because formerly incarcerated individuals earn about 30-40 percent less than those who have never been incarcerated.
âJudges should have the discretion to craft fair and effective sentences and not waste taxpayer money,â said Scotti. âIt costs more than $46,000 a year to incarcerate someone in New Jersey. If someone doesnât deserve the additional penalty and if the additional penalty does nothing to improve public safety, mandating an additional penalty is just throwing taxpayer money down the drain. It damages the individualâs ability to earn a living and become a productive member of society and it shrinks New Jerseyâs tax base. The bottom line is that New Jersey canât afford ineffective mandatory minimum sentences.â
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