This week the New Jersey Assembly passed compromise legislation to reform the state’s unfair and ineffective drug-free zone law. Support for this bill is the first priority of DPA New Jersey's New Solutions Campaign, which was recently launched to advocate for fair and effective criminal sentencing and stronger families and communities.  

The bill, A2762, sponsored by Assemblywoman Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Mercer) and Assemblyman Gordon M. Johnson (D-Bergen), would give judges the discretion not to impose a mandatory minimum sentence for drug-free zone offenses under certain circumstances. The legislation is a compromise introduced to replace an earlier bill that would have reduced the size of the zones to 200 feet.

Roseanne Scotti, director of DPA New Jersey, called the bill a sensible compromise that would allow for individualized sentences and save taxpayers money.  “Basically the current law calls for two different penalties for the same crime with the severity of the penalty based on geography and ultimately on race,” said Scotti. “The zones blanket our urban areas and as a result, 96 percent of those getting this additional mandatory minimum sentence are African-American or Latino.”

The next step for drug-free zone reform is consideration by the New Jersey Senate. DPA New Jersey and the New Solutions Campaign will work in support of a Senate version of the reform bill, with the goal of achieving Senate passage this fall.

Two reports in New Jersey have documented the need for more fair and effective, less wasteful sentencing policies. One, issued in 2002 by the New Jersey Commission to Review Criminal Sentencing, found that the state's drug-free zones were completely ineffective in reducing drug offenses within the designated areas.  In addition, the commission found that the law had a severe “urban effect” that disproportionately impacted minority communities.

Another report, released just last month by DPA New Jersey, investigated the hidden costs of incarceration. The report found that the state is losing literally billions of dollars in direct and hidden costs as a result of the harsh and ineffective overuse of incarceration.

“Judges should have the discretion to craft fair and effective sentences and not waste taxpayer money,” said Scotti.  “It costs more than $46,000 a year to incarcerate someone in New Jersey.  If someone doesn’t deserve the additional penalty and if the additional penalty does nothing to improve public safety, mandating an additional penalty is just throwing taxpayer money down the drain.  It damages the individual’s ability to earn a living and become a productive member of society and it shrinks New Jersey’s tax base. The bottom line is that New Jersey can’t afford ineffective mandatory minimum sentences.”