NYC Council Weighing Bills To Decriminalize Minor Offenses
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The New York City Council is considering a pair of measures that would decriminalize some minor offenses.
Under the proposals, police could no longer arrest people for urinating in public, consuming alcohol in public, bicycling on a sidewalk, being in a park after dark, littering, failing to obey a sign and making excessive noise, WCBS 880's Rich Lamb reported.
"People could be impacted in terms of their ability to get a job, in terms of even maintaining their housing if they're in jail for seven to 10 days," City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito said. "The impact it has in the larger scope are things that have to be taken into account. So we want to minimize that level of interaction in a negative way with the criminal justice system for these nonviolent, minor offenses."
Mark-Viverito conceded that NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton does not support the legislation, but said they are continuing to talk.