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Results for drug free school zones

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Author: Barlyn, Ben

Title: Report on New Jersey's Drug Free Zone Crimes and Proposal For Reform

Summary: This report presents a concise summary of the key findings and recommendations of the New Jersey Commission to Review Criminal Sentencing primarily concerning N.J.S.A. 2C:35-7, commonly known as the drug free school zone law and N.J.S.A. 2C:35-7.1, commonly referred to as the park zone law. New Jersey’s school zone law mandates enhanced punishment for those that distribute, or possess with intent to distribute, illicit narcotics within 1,000 feet of school property. Ten years after the enactment of the school zone law, the Legislature enacted N.J.S.A. 2C:35-7.1 which mandates enhanced punishment for those that distribute, or possess with intent to distribute, illicit narcotics within 500 feet of public parks, public housing and other public buildings. New Jersey’s cities are among the most densely populated in the nation. Given the large concentration of schools in these areas, the protective zones which surround them have overlapped and coalesced to such an extent that the three cities studied by the Commission – Jersey City, Camden, and Newark – have themselves become all-encompassing drug free zones. The foregoing “urban effect” of the drug free zone laws significantly increases the likelihood that a drug distribution offense will occur within a drug free school zone in urban areas; minorities, who currently comprise a greater proportion of urban populations than rural and suburban populations, are therefore far more likely to be charged with a drug free zone offense and subjected to harsher punishment upon conviction. The unintended, but profoundly discriminatory, impact of the laws is the direct result of the size of the zones defined by the school zone and park zone laws, and is, moreover, significantly amplified by New Jersey’s unique demographic characteristics. The end result of this cumulative “urban effect” of the drug free zone laws is that nearly every offender (96%) convicted and incarcerated for a drug free zone offense in New Jersey is either Black or Hispanic. The “urban effect” greatly undermines the school zone law’s effectiveness in protecting school children: the enormous, unbroken swaths created by the overlapping zones have in fact diluted the special protection of schools that the law was specifically intended to facilitate. A review of geocoded arrest data for illicit drug activity in Newark yields no evidence that drug dealers are aware of school zones, much less that they deliberately undertake their criminal activity to evade exposure to the school zone law. Based on its review of the pertinent data, the Commission concludes that a substantial reduction of the zones will at once significantly enhance the effectiveness of the law while considerably diminishing the disproportionate number of minority drug dealers subject to enhanced punishment avoided by their white suburban and rural counterparts. The Commission’s proposal to amend the school zone and drug free park laws by substantially reducing the zone size to 200 feet remedies both aforementioned deficiencies. The Commission’s proposal would eliminate the mandatory minimum sentence for the school zone offense but would upgrade the crime within the reduced zone to second degree which carries a presumption of imprisonment. Discretionary extended terms of imprisonment for repeat offenders and parole ineligibility terms could still be imposed by judges with respect to drug offenses both inside and outside the zones. This change will ensure that those who sell drugs within close proximity to schools and other protected property will be subject to significant punishment, including the presumption of imprisonment, while also conferring a greater degree of discretion on courts in fashioning fair and appropriate sentences. The Commission recognizes that the financial cost of incarcerating large numbers of drug offenders places a tremendous burden on the State budget and might not constitute the most efficient use of public funds to promote public safety by preventing future drug crimes. Further study is urgently required. The Commission’s findings and recommendations with regard to the drug free zone laws are unanimous. The Commission will continue to collect data and carefully monitor application of the current drug free zone provisions, as well as subsequently enacted provisions. These findings will be presented to the Legislature and the public on a periodic basis.

Details: Trenton, NJ: New Jersey Commission to Review Criminal Sentencing, 2005. 60p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 3, 2010 at: http://www.sentencing.nj.gov/publications.html

Year: 2005

Country: United States

URL: http://www.sentencing.nj.gov/publications.html

Shelf Number: 100375

Keywords:
Drug Free School Zones
Drug Offenders
Racial Disparities
Sentencing (New Jersey)