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Austin PD finally implementing B misdemeanor citation policy

More than a year after they gained the new authority created by the Texas Legislature, the Austin Police Department has joined the ranks of Texas law enforcement agencies issuing citations instead of arresting (at the officers' discretion) for certain low-level, non-violent misdemeanors, a change that's been promoted locally by the group Keep Austin Safe. Reported the Austin Statesman ("Austin police to begin citing, not arresting some offenders," Oct. 19):By year's end, Police Chief Art Acevedo hopes to put in place a policy that would allow officers to ticket some offenders instead of taking them to the Travis County Jail. The move comes more than a year after state legislators passed a so-called "cite and release" law. The policy would apply only to certain Class A and Class B misdemeanor arrests...continue to full post

Full post as published by Grits for Breakfast on October 19, 2008 (boomark / email).