By Justin Muszynski
Fresh into another semester, the CCSU police are looking ahead and using new and old techniques to minimize the amount of crime that takes place on campus.
According to the annual crime report that is put out in accordance with the Clery Act, the number of drug related arrests on campus from 2008 to 2010 went up annually. The report does not contain any statistics from 2011.
Sgt. Jerry Erwin says that the police are aware of this and he expects that the number will increase in 2012. He attributes this to the common misconceptions many students have about the “decriminalization” of marijuana.
“People think that decriminalized means that it’s not illegal anymore,” said Erwin. “That’s not the case.”
Jonathan Pohl, the coordinator of the Office of Alcohol and Drug Education, says marijuana being decriminalized only means that if someone possesses less than half an ounce they are no longer taken into custody but given a citation instead.
In an attempt to educate people about this matter, Pohl, along with Meagen Wentz, also of the Office of Alcohol and Drug Education, will be putting posters up starting Feb. 1 giving the real details about the legality of marijuana.
“You are technically being arrested even if you’re not physically taken by the police,” says Pohl. “On the back of the citation it tells you that you need to plead guilty or not guilty to this ‘crime.’ It will show up on your record as an arrest because of possession.”
To aid them further this semester, they will be allowed to carry handheld breathalyzers. While this may frighten some students, Erwin says it will actually benefit the ones who aren’t drinking on campus.
“Say for example we get a call that there’s a party happening on campus and we go to investigate and find there’s four students in a dorm room and alcohol is present,” said Erwin. “At that point we could use the breathalyzer to find out which students were actually drinking. If one of them wasn’t then, guess what? They don’t get a ticket.”
Marcia Butland, the program assistant at the Office of Student Conduct, warns that should a student be found on campus in the presence of alcohol whether they consumed any or not they will still be sanctioned by the university. Depending on your history, disciplinary action for this could range from participating in a program, writing a reflection paper and serving six months of probation, to losing your housing.
Erwin also says that the police are also somewhat concerned about synthetic semester.
“As far as I know no one has been arrested for it here,” said Erwin. “If people aren’t doing it here they’re doing it somewhere and, because its odor isn’t as recognizable as regular marijuana, it could become a problem in the future.”
Erwin says the New Britain police recently revealed that the number of alcohol related offenses off campus has gone down by four percent.
“I’d like to think we had something to do with that,” said Erwin.