Tobacco Documents Online

C Let's set the record straight. . . can they enforce smoking prohibition laws? e~o cementeofeliaws bthat anning smoking in public places is a simple matter. But police officials do not support this idea. Here are some comments from law enforcement authorities on the subject, r"It appears on the surface that anti-smoking laws being proposed are additional nuisance laws given to the police department without adequately responding with necessary resources to responsibly administrate them. Although I don't smoke, I would be opposed to this type of legislation because of the police enforce- ment problems it imposes:' Chief Robert Hanson, Seattle Police Department, 1977 r"We are telling our officers to give it the lowest pri- ority. Unless an officer has absolutely nothing to do, he Isn't going to go out and give someone a citation for smoking in an unauthorized area:' Assistant Police Chief Michael Sgobba, San Diego, Cali- fornia, 1976, r"I'd like to know who's going to enforce it (no smok- ing law) because law enforcement won't have time. We have enough problems with criminals and traffic without worrying about smokers and nonsmokers:' Sheriff Raynor Weizenecker, Putnam County. New York, 1976, r"Violation of the (smoking) law .., is a misde- meanor of the lowest order and as such will receive absolutely no attention from our Department except as it might be necessary to respond tospecific complaints. ...If anyone is really serious about enforcing the Stat- ute and the regulations to the letter of the law, it seems to me it speaks toward hiring some sort of an army, armed with citations booklets and loosed upon the un- suspecting public for some yet undetermined purpose'.' Richard H. Rowan, Chief of Police, St. Paul, Minnesota, 1976. r°'We're not going to go and look for smokers to ar- rest. We've got enough problems catching holdup men and burglars:' Undersherift Tom Rosa. Santa Clara County, California, 1976, r"Anti-smoking laws would be infringing on a lot of people's rights:' Deputy Sheriff Mary Lou Hansen, Cook County, Illinois, 1976. r"It would be hard to enforce and a lot of paperwork for a petty offense and it wouldn't be worth the time and effort'.' Sheriff Harold Bray, Jefferson County, Colorado, 1976. r"You (city council) don't want to pass some sort of legislation that weakens our powers to enforce...l would hate to think that someone was injured and something destroyed because we couldn't get a police officer to the scene, while I was arresting someone for smoking in the grocery section of a store'.' Police Chief Raymond B. Pucker, San Bernardino, Cali- fornia, 1977 03739083 These views are representative of current thinking among members of the law enforcement community. They are significant because they come from sources responsible for public safety at a time when street crime is a major social problem. Consequently, police authorities across the na- tion are beginning to express solid opposition to the current wave of pro- posed anti-smoking legislation. ForaCtlnionaiin/o,metonor CALIFOFNIAABSOCIATIONOFTOBACCOANDCANDYDISTRIBUTOFS copieSpleaseco~lacP. 1224SneocanFoaoiConcoio,CA94520.q4'5~6E?5025 . -Wi T7