Drug Free Zones Back on the Radar in New Jersey

There is a another push for reform of drug free zones in New Jersey legislature. According to The Times (Trenton, NJ) May 12, 2008 article,("Drug-Free Zones Require Changes") 'New Jersey's drug-free school zone law wastes money, damages young lives, has racially discriminatory outcomes and hasn't reduced crime. Among those who want it changed are the governor, the attorney general, many of the state's judges, the prosecutors of all 21 counties and the mayor of Newark, where its impact has been especially harmful. But the Legislature won't budge. Bills to amend the law are bottled up in both the Senate and Assembly. A major reason seems to be the fear of many members that political opponents will target them as soft on crime if they vote for the proposals."

The article reports, "The existing law establishes drug-free zones within 1,000 feet of a school or school bus and 500 feet of parks, libraries, museums and other public facilities. Anyone convicted of a drug crime within the zone has an automatic three-year prison term tacked onto his penalty. The judge isn't permitted to consider the circumstances. No one disagrees that the state should throw the book at drug dealers who actually peddle to children. But the approach taken by the school-zone law has been disastrous, according to a 2005 report by the New Jersey Commission to Review Criminal Sentencing. The commission, which included law-enforcement officials, judges, lawmakers, public defenders and prosecutors and other experts, concluded: 'The drug-free zone laws, as presently applied, have had a devastatingly disproportionate impact on New Jersey's minority community. Of no less importance, the available evidence strongly suggests that the laws as presently written do not further what the Legislature clearly intended to be their specific purpose: to protect certain premises from the primary and secondary effects of the illicit drug trade.' The commission found that there had been no increase in drug-distribution offenses immediately outside the 1,000-foot perimeter, as would be expected if the law was working. Instead, arrests within the zone rose steadily over the years. Of the school-zone cases the commission studied, none involved selling drugs to minors -- the group that the law supposedly protects. Drug sales tend to take place at nights and on weekends, when kids aren't in school. The law not only is ineffective, but wasteful. When the commission filed its report, New Jersey spent about $31,000 for each prisoner jailed for a drug crime. That figure now is more than $45,000."

The article adds, "The commission called for reduction of the zones from 1,000 and 500 feet to 200 feet, while increasing the penalty for offenses within the 200-foot zone (but without the mandatory minimum). This would more closely link the zones to the schools themselves and produce a stronger deterrent -- and greater protection for kids. But bills to implement those recommendations, sponsored by Watson Coleman and others, went nowhere. Now, backed by Gov. Jon Corzine's office and Attorney General Anne Milgram, a compromise is in the works. Watson Coleman will introduce a new bill later this month that would leave the drug-free zones at 1,000 and 500 feet, but give the judges back some sentencing flexibility. They could weigh such factors as the exact location of the offense, the suspect's record and whether school was in session and kids were present. If the accused was arrested on school property or possessed a firearm, however, the judge still would have to hand down the three-year minimum sentence."