03.03.20 Regular Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

City Council Meeting Minutes March 3, 2020 Karen Brown, in support of cite and release ordinance, she stated that all the comments made from personal testimonies and citing statics that it is very clear to her and clear to Council that this ordinance will bring a measure of justice to our community. Justice especially for people who are poor and working people who can get fired if they miss and people who are separated from their children. She stated that she worked with children for many years and that she is particularly concerned for the children whose parents are put in jail instead of getting a citation when they comitt a misdeameanor. She stated that they are not a danger to society or danger to anyone and should be home with their families. She urged Council to please consider this ordinance when you think about the children. She stated that with justice in the community will be better if we are a just community. She stated that we heard other statics from people that have quoted, we have heard from personal testimony that justice is not served when the vulnerable people who are low socioeconomic and people of color in our community. When people are treated differently, when they are taking advantage of we are not meeting out justice instead we are meeting out injustice. She stated to please consider voting for this ordinance, it's the right thing to do and has confidence in the Council to do the right thing to pass this ordinance. Kristian Caballero, spoke on behalf of Texas Appleseed, addressed agenda item #29 and made the following comments: I'm speaking on behalf of Texas Appleseed, which fully supports the adoption of a Cite & Release program in San Marcos and more importantly, an ordinance. We would like to encourage the policy decisions that council makes related to arrests and jail be designed with the goal of preventing contact with the jail whenever possible and releasing people who can safely be released as quickly as possible. Research shows that jail contact has a major negative impact on people's lives, including but not limited to: employment, housing, education, mental or physical health, and family stability. Given the major destabilizing impact that jail has on people's lives, jail stays increase a person's risk of additional charges, fines, fees and re -arrest. In short, unnecessary jail time creates a vicious cycle of involvement and debt with the criminal justice system. Not to mention the threat of deportation for undocumented immigrants. By using citations in lieu of arrest, hundreds of people charged with low-level offenses can avoid contact with the jail entirely, maintaining contact with their children, families and communities; showing up for work and maintaining their employment; and able to continue with their lives as usual. We hope that council will adopt a Cite and Release ordinance to require officers to not only notify people that they do not need to disclose their City of San Marcos Page 11