Bronx District Lawyer Darcel D. Clark discussing group security and violence prevention initiatives.
Photograph by Jewel Webber
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With the vacation purchasing season in full swing, Bronx District Lawyer Darcel Clark is asking on elected officers and enterprise leaders to reassess how hashish offenses and retail theft are prosecuted, warning that present legal guidelines fail to guard Bronx communities.
In a Dec. 6 letter addressed to 12 native Enterprise Enchancment District (BID) leaders and elected officers, Clark argued that current legal guidelines are too lenient, enabling crimes that hurt small companies.
Clark argued that Bronx small companies are combating a dropping battle in opposition to forms of crime that pose a severe risk to their livelihood. The present legal guidelines “do not provide adequate protection for our community,” she stated within the letter. The Bronx Instances reached out to a number of recipients and is awaiting a response.
On the subject of hashish, Clark stated the state’s Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act of 2021 — aimed toward decreasing mass incarceration that has disproportionately affected Black and brown individuals — left a loophole that “[makes] it virtually impossible to prosecute any illegal cannabis possession and sale.”
The loophole comes from the present regulation’s use of “pure weight” as an alternative of “aggregate weight” in measuring hashish.
“Aggregate weight” contains the whole quantity of hashish seized by authorities, which might embody fillers, as defined by a DA spokesperson. “Pure weight,” which is tougher to quantify, solely measures the quantity that accommodates the high-inducing chemical THC. As an illustration, a bag of hashish that features stems and seeds would mix for the “aggregate weight.”
Amid Bronx officers’ efforts to clamp down on unlawful smoke retailers, prosecuting underneath the present “pure weight” normal has let too many unlawful hashish sellers off the hook, in Clark’s view. She pointed to 2 Brooklyn circumstances dismissed due to the distinction in normal and stated she anticipates that the identical will occur within the Bronx. Present legal guidelines might should be tweaked to make sure that hashish seized from unlicensed retailers will be prosecuted, she stated.
‘Collateral consequences’
Clark stated retail theft is one other “significant problem” as a result of too many offenders are launched and go on to commit extra crimes.
Whereas 2020 reforms to bail and discovery legal guidelines have been well-intended at righting some previous wrongs within the felony justice system, some had “collateral consequences,” stated Clark.
“Whether it’s the result of judges choosing not to set bail for offenses that involve harm to property, or because of the timeline and volume of discovery, retail theft is still a real problem,” stated Clark.
The DA’s letter stated that hardworking native entrepreneurs are unfairly threatened by these points and that she appears ahead to
“These business owners pay high rents, work long hours, and struggle to remain economically viable due in large part to illegal activities in surrounding areas,” stated Clark.
