Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
"Broken Windows" Theory Broken: Most People Arrested For Pot Possession Aren't Dangerous Criminals
By
John Del Signore
Published Nov 23, 2012
Modified Nov 23, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
John Del Signore
Published Nov 23, 2012
Modified Nov 23, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Low-level pot possession continues to be the number one cause of arrest in NYC; in 2011 the NYPD made 50,680 arrests for low-level marijuana offenses, and half a million have been arrested during the past 15 years. When asked about this incredible statistic, officials will often point to the "broken windows" policing strategy, which relies on a theory that arresting people for small offenses like pot possession preemptively thwarts criminals for whom smoking weed is just the tip of the iceberg. But a new study (in full below) from Human Rights Watch tells a very different story:
Using data provided by the New York Department of Criminal Justice Services, Human Rights Watch tracked until mid-2011 the subsequent criminal records of nearly 30,000 people who had no prior convictions when they were arrested for marijuana possession in public view in 2003 and 2004. Ninety percent of the group had no subsequent felony convictions. Only 3.1 percent were subsequently convicted of one violent felony offense. An additional 0.4 percent had two or more violent felony convictions.
It's worth noting, again, that since 1977 marijuana possession in New York State has been decriminalized for amounts of 25 grams or less, as long as it's not in public view. In June, the Legal Aid Society filed a lawsuit against the city and the NYPD for ignoring an order from NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly, commanding police officers to stop making misdemeanor arrests for small quantities of marijuana that come into "public view" during stop-and-frisks. Also in June, a bill in Albany that would further decriminalize small amounts of marijuana (making it a violation, not a misdemeanor) was shot down by Republicans.
(Human Rights Watch)
Bloomberg, Kelly, Cuomo, and the five district attorneys of New York City all supported the legislation, which may get a new shot at passing next year. Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance has said, “The human cost to each one of these people and their families is serious and it is real.” As the Times persuasively argues in an editorial today, "Those arrested for minor possession — even if their cases are eventually dismissed — can endure grave collateral consequences. They can lose job opportunities, access to housing and can be turned away when applying for military service." The overwhelming majority of those arrested are black or Hispanic.
“As long as they keep arresting people, and making them pay such a heavy price for possessing marijuana in public view, New York City officials owe the public an explanation for how those arrests contribute to public safety, ” said Issa Kohler-Hausmann, co-author of the Human Rights Watch report. “If these arrests have crime control benefits that outweigh the costs, public officials have yet to identify them.”
A Red Herring: Marijuana Arrestees Do Not Become Violent Felons,
Tagged
broken windows
marijuana
marijuana legalization
nypd
pot
original
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Deer are all over New Jersey roads looking for sex, state officials warn
Mid-October through mid-December is deer mating season, which can be a danger to drivers as the sex-seeking creatures cross roadways throughout the Garden State.
By
Rosemary Misdary
Published Oct 16, 2026 at 4:22 p.m. ET
Man messaged 'I got straight poison' before giving NYC college students fentanyl, feds say
A transcript from an April court hearing sheds new light on what transpired at Fashion Institute of Technology.
By
Samantha Max
News
Man messaged 'I got straight poison' before giving NYC college students fentanyl, feds say
A transcript from an April court hearing sheds new light on what transpired at Fashion Institute of Technology.
By
Samantha Max
Inside the plan to fix the nearly collapsed Pfizer Building, 1/64th of an inch at a time
By
David Brand
School bus carrying autistic students got lost in Brooklyn for 4 hours last year
By
Jessica Gould
NYC’s bridges can last 'forever,' if we take care of them
By
Clayton Guse
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .