Using pot in Meridian? Compared to Boise, officers are twice as likely to take you to jail
Editor’s note: These numbers are based on information in the public jail roster and in police affidavits. Some affidavits disclosed more information about the arrests than others.
The answer to ending overcrowding at the Ada County Jail is not to stop arresting people on marijuana charges. Data collected over the past seven months shows that it’s actually rare to be booked only for pot possession, and arrests involving the drug accounted for less than 1 percent of the new inmate population during the last eight months of 2019.
But that same data does shine some light on how police departments handle cases involving marijuana.
The Idaho Statesman tracked the Ada County Jail roster, looking for individuals who were booked only for misdemeanor possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.
The Statesman also tracked which police agencies booked people into jail the most, finding that the Meridian Police Department’s rate was a little more than twice that of the Boise Police Department.
To be clear, the number of people booked into jail only on a marijuana offense is a fraction of the number of people in Ada County apprehended with pot. People who are caught with marijuana often are being arrested because of another crime, or they might have outstanding warrants or possess other drugs that are worthy of felony charges, the Statesman found.
When tracking the jail roster, the Statesman read through more than 75 probable cause affidavits and eliminated anyone from the list who was booked on other charges, had felony narcotics charges, had outstanding warrants, or who might have been apprehended in the commission of another crime while possessing pot.
The Statesman also eliminated anyone who had paraphernalia, such as a syringe, that’s tied to a drug other than marijuana.
What we found
From May 1 to Dec. 31 last year, 65 people were booked into the jail for alleged misdemeanor possession of marijuana and related drug paraphernalia. The Meridian Police Department made 38 of those arrests and the Boise Police Department made 16.
The youngest person booked for marijuana was 18 and the oldest was 58. Only nine were women, and the average age was about 27.
Police officers are granted some discretion as to whether they cite and release a person for marijuana possession or take them to jail. The same discretion applies to other nonviolent misdemeanors, such as petit theft or vandalism.
From May 1 to Dec. 31 last year, the Ada County Jail saw a total of 9,825 bookings covering dozens of charges. That means marijuana and paraphernalia charges made up less than 1 percent of the people coming into the jail.
What led to the arrests?
After reading through the affidavits written by various patrol officers, common denominators stood out among people booked on marijuana possession. Many of those arrested were operating a vehicle and violating traffic laws. Others were sitting in a vehicle in a parking lot and smoking marijuana.
And in some cases, police were called to investigate domestic incidents and the drug was in plain view of the officers.
One suspect booked by Boise police had marijuana on him, but he was in a house that had heroin allegedly belonging to other people.
Circumstances around the arrests varied widely, as did the criminal records of some of the suspects. Some were first-time offenders and others had dozens of prior charges.
Meridian Police enforce ‘the little things’
When asked about booking rates, Meridian Police Deputy Chief Tracy Basterrechea said his agency must look at quality-of-life issues when deciding on charges.
“We may be contacting these people because they’re called in as a suspicious subject, they’re making people uncomfortable, they’re doing other activities that are surrounding the fact that ultimately we end up with possession of marijuana (charges),” he said. “We believe in enforcing the little things.”
Basterrechea said he has officers from other states who have worked in places where recreational marijuana is legal or there was lax enforcement of marijuana laws. They come to Meridian because they want a better life for their family, he said.
“That’s one of the things we emphasize with our officers,” he said. “The other thing is, are they in a motor vehicle?”
Roughly 21 of the 38 Meridian bookings for possession of marijuana or paraphernalia involved a person either sitting in a vehicle or operating a vehicle. Some of the affidavits were more clear than others about where the suspect was when caught with pot.
Meridian police also look at whether they have had prior contacts with the suspect, the amount of marijuana the person has and whether the subject has been cited before on pot charges, Basterrechea said.
“Marijuana is illegal in this state. Bottom line,” he said. “And we’re going to enforce those laws because we do believe that when you start to let those little things go, it starts to affect the quality of life in your city.”
Basterrechea offered the example of arrests earlier this month at a hotel, where police responded to a report of the odor of marijuana coming from a room. While searching the room, officers found multiple smoking devices, marijuana and methamphetamine. Police also found forged checks, multiple identification cards and stolen debit cards.
The three people arrested in that hotel room now face charges stemming from multiple burglaries, both local and out of state.
“The sole, No. 1 reason for us being there was a marijuana charge,” Basterrechea said, and the case added up to 11 charges for the three suspects.
Boise Police: Criminal history plays a role in decisions
Acting Boise Police Chief Ron Winegar said his department gives officers wide discretion on whether to arrest someone on a marijuana charge.
“Things they may take into account are, yes, we know the jails are overcrowded,” he said. “That’s a given, and as a department we encourage our officers to be cognizant of that when dealing with relatively low-level misdemeanor crimes — whatever they may be, not just marijuana.”
Calls for service happening at the time also play a role, Winegar said. In Fiscal Year 2019, Boise Police responded to nearly 153,000 calls for service. If a misdemeanor can be handled at the lowest level, then “it makes sense” not to tie up an officer’s time and resources to book a person into jail, he said.
The record of the person involved also is a factor, including a history of failing to appear in court or of being a violent offender, he said.
“That may also include the person’s attitude,” Winegar said. “Their willingness to accept responsibility. … It definitely goes a long way with officers if people are upfront and honest with them, and it may make the difference between you going to jail and getting a citation.”
Winegar said there are no arrest quotas for patrol officers.
“We are tasked with enforcing the law and we do that to the best of our ability, but we don’t pick and choose which ones to enforce,” he said. “But we certainly have discretion on whether to book someone into jail and make a physical custody arrest, or whether we issue a summons to appear in court later.”
Ada County Sheriff’s Office: A ‘field-based decision’
The Ada County Sheriff’s Office does not have a specific policy regarding arresting suspects for pot possession, according to spokesman Patrick Orr.
“It is a field-based decision every time,” Orr said. “Our deputies consider factors like the criminal history of the person being investigated, the specific circumstances of the situation, and if the person has any pending FTA charges.”
An “FTA” is when a person failed to appear in court in an ongoing criminal case.
Legal marijuana
While marijuana remains illegal in Idaho, every state bordering Idaho, with the exception of Wyoming, has legalized it in some form. And last year the city of Ontario, Oregon, just across the state line, legalized the sale of recreational pot, making it an easy trip for Treasure Valley residents who want to purchase marijuana legally.
In this legislative session, Sen. Grant Burgoyne, D-Boise, pitched a bill that would decriminalize the possession of personal-use amounts of marijuana and other drugs in private places, but would not legalize any drugs. Prosecutors and law enforcement issued a statement opposing the bill.
Winegar and Basterrechea told the Statesman that they do not support legalization of the drug for recreational use.
“I know there’s a lot of states that have legalized marijuana and there is certainly a pro-marijuana lobby out there for sure,” Winegar said. “But I have yet to see anything good come from marijuana use in the recreational form. I’ve seen tragedy after tragedy and problem after problem, and I’ve seen families and individuals’ lives torn apart from all kinds of drug use.”
Winegar argued that anyone who says marijuana does not have ill effects is “simply not being honest.”
“Marijuana causes a load of problems in our community and our society,” he said. “In and of itself it is harmful and dangerous to the human body and to the human mind.”
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREHow did we report on this story?
The Idaho Statesman followed the Ada County Jail roster every day for seven months. Reporter Ruth Brown then cross-referenced the names of more than 75 people at the Ada County Jail to read the probable cause affidavits in their cases to learn more about the circumstances of every arrest.
Tracking the jail roster
The Idaho Statesman created a document to track the name, age, and date of every person booked into Ada County Jail for what appeared to be only marijuana possession and drug paraphernalia. We also tracked which police agency reportedly booked the person.
Narrowing down the suspects
After reading court documents, the Statesman eliminated any person booked into jail who had an outstanding warrant, who was booked in the commission of another crime, and who may have had another form of drug in their possession.
Several people were eliminated from the list of marijuana arrests because the Statesman found they had been combative with officers or had evidence of felony substances, such as heroin or methamphetamine in their possession. Both meth and heroin possession are felony crimes and are taken more seriously in court than possession of pot.
Some people were eliminated from the list of marijuana arrests because they were wanted for other crimes at the time that police found them with pot.
Seeking interviews
The Idaho Statesman sought interviews with each police agency to ask them about their policies on arresting individuals for marijuana possession. Each agency gives officers a certain level of discretion when it comes to making a decision about whether to cite and release a suspect or whether to book them into jail.
