TICKETS FOR POT SMOKERS? SGTS. DON'T THINK SO

Don't let pot smokers off with just a ticket, a group of sergeants is
urging Chicago Police Supt. Phil Cline.

In September, Mayor Daley embraced the idea of raising money for city
coffers by having cops write tickets for possession of small amounts
of marijuana.

"It's decriminalized now," Daley said when asked about research
showing 94 percent of Chicago Police arrests involving less than 2.5
grams of pot were dismissed in 2003.

After Daley made his controversial remarks, a group of sergeants was
assigned to study the issue. They unveiled their report to Cline and
his commanders earlier this month.

They recommended that officers continue making arrests for small
amounts of pot, instead of handing out parking-style tickets, Cline
said.

'Better Bang For Our Buck'

Still, the department needs to prevent officers from spending up to
two hours at police stations processing such misdemeanor marijuana
arrests, the sergeants said.

"The big issue is how do we get a better bang for our buck," Cline
said.

The sergeants, whose study was part of a training exercise to groom
them for promotion, suggested that officers fill out their arrest and
evidence reports in their squad cars -- using computerized forms --
instead of doing the paperwork in the station, Cline said.

Police squadrols could transport the offenders to the station, keeping
the arresting officers on the street, the study said.

Cline called the sergeants' recommendations a "pretty good
option."

Fewer Dismissals

The Chicago Police Department also is working with prosecutors and the
courts to lower the percentage of marijuana cases that are dismissed.

"What bothered everybody is that these cases were being dropped,"
Cline said.

Tom Donegan, another Chicago Police sergeant, launched the discussion
over marijuana arrests in September with a proposal he sent to Cline
and other commanders.

Donegan, fed up with seeing pot arrests evaporate in court, claimed
the city could have raised $5 million in 2003 by fining people for
possession of less than 30 grams of pot.

Donegan was not part of the group that presented the recommendations
to Cline this month.