Thread by @DrRJKavanagh

Not addressed here, & rarely ever addressed, when people don’t get arrested for low level offenses, they are still given summonses.

Is that better? Yes - they don’t spend the night in jail.

But it does absolutely nothing to address racial disparities.

at.law.com/Qu4QZd?cmp=sha…

We’ve had this wholesale transference of people from criminal court to summons court. So arrest statistics are down (but as this article points out, racial disparities remain) & the process has just become less visible.

In many ways, it’s a deliberate manipulation.

People issued summonses are still charged with the same offenses as if they were arrested - and in some cases this will be a misdemeanor.

That’s serious, but people, because they got a ticket, may not appreciate that and may be more likely to plead guilty.

It’s kinda what is happening with marijuana, where now people supposedly get a ticket (unless you fall into one of the large number of exceptions) but you’ll still be stopped & you can still be subject to search.

Not arresting people doesn’t change any of that.

People just need to be cognizant that a lot of what is spun as reform is in fact smoke and mirrors.