Say goodbye to the paper bags: unless you're committing some serious offenses, you won't have to face arrest for public drinking in the borough of Manhattan.

Okay, so maybe that's not entirely true. You won't be getting arrested, but you could still face a summons, which would be a fine and wouldn't count on your criminal record.

According to the Observer and the New York Daily News this is part of a city-wide attempt to reduce the amount of congestion within the court system and police departments, with District Attorney Cyrus Vance, Jr. saying:

“By giving cops the discretion to issue summonses instead of requiring them to make arrests, we ensure they do not spend hours processing cases as minor as littering, and we enable officers to get back to patrolling, investigating, and keeping our neighborhoods safe,”

As it stands--again, according to the Observer and New York Daily News--such offenses generally only resulted in a summons anyway, unless one had outstanding warrants.

But nonetheless, this is at least an acknowledgment from the City that the justice system can use resources in a more efficient and intuitive manner.

 

More From WRRV-WRRB