Slight majority believes city should embrace LEAD policies
The Daily Record’s online poll from Sept. 6-20 asked readers whether they think the City of San Marcos should embrace law enforcement assisted diversion (LEAD) policies in the future.
Recently the San Marcos City Council approved the appointment of Bob Klett as San Marcos’ interim chief of police and head of the San Marcos Police Department, following a restructuring of city staff.
With the appointment of Klett, local advocacy group Mano Amiga presented data that stated the San Marcos Police Department had only released 6.1% of cases eligible for cite and release in 2018 — SMPD said internal numbers showed that they used cite and release 12% of the time for possession of marijuana eligible cases.
Mano Amiga made a call for any new police chief in San Marcos to embrace cite and release policy as well as LEAD, which is a community-based diversion program designed to divert those suspected of low-level drug a offenses away from jail and prosecution and into case management and other supportive services. The National Institute of Justice rated the LEAD program as promising, saying it leads to less repeat offenses.
The poll asking, “Do you think the City of San Marcos should embrace LEAD policies in the future?” received a total of 1643 votes, with the majority of votes — 53 percent or 866 votes — going to option “Yes, LEAD could lead to less repeat offenses and over incarceration.” Forty-seven percent of voters chose, “No, the current system works as it should.”
A slight majority of poll voters think that the City of San Marcos should embrace LEAD policies in the future because it could lead to less repeat offenses and help stop over incarceration. Every week, the Record gives its readers the opportunity to voice their opinions on different topics. This poll does not, and does not purport to accurately depict public opinion. It is only intended to inspire thought-provoking discussion within the community.
SMDR’s new poll is available online now and asks for readers’ opinions on whether think Cape’s Dam should be preserved. It can be voted on now.
