THE WARRANT GAME

Editor -- Kudos for your special report, "Criminal State, When Justice Goes
Unserved.'' The stats in the sidebar graph say it all. In San Francisco
there are 5,605 unserved warrants for "dangerous drugs,'' while 20 homicide
warrants are left unserved. Probably 60 percent of the dangerous-drug
warrants were for marijuana possession. Now, who's afraid of someone
walking around with a baggie of marijuana in his/her purse/pocket?

The "Why Warrants Are Not Served'' sidebar gives such reasons for lack of
service as other priorities, staffing cuts (money), communication
breakdowns, inadequate computer systems and sheer volume. Lighten the load
and all these reasons would go away. Let's get real. It's time to toss the
possession warrants into the floor file and allocate resources where they
will do some good, such as serving murderers, kidnappers, assaulters of all
kinds and illegal weapons holders.

Gerald M. Sutliff
Emeryville