Peeing into the Wind: The Finances of Petty Crime
Simple Justice:
Plattsburgh, like many upstate New York Cities, has a problem, according to WPTZ via Turley. Bars close late at night and patrons, finding themselves out in the cold, suddenly have to go. When you have to go, you have to go. But if you do so in public, it’s an offense. In Plattsburgh, the happy barhoppers were cited for disorderly conduct, a state penal law infraction, below that of a crime but sufficient to levy a fine and potential imprisonment.
Now this is where most people make the mistake of thinking that cities press these issues for the money. Because it’s a state offense, the fines imposed by local courts aren’t kept by the local government. Instead, they are required to remit the fine to the state, which then returns a mere 5% to the city, town or village.
So in Plattsburgh, the City does all the work, using its police to locate and cite, using its prosecutors to prosecute and its courts to handle the cases. The 5% remittance likely doesn’t come close to covering the cost, and certainly doesn’t make them any money. Plattsburgh has had enough of it.
Currently, the city follows New York State law and charges violators with disorderly conduct if they are found urinating in public.
But Beebie said disorderly conduct is a violation, and not a stiff enough penalty. “It’s not a crime. You cannot get a permanent record for it, but you do subject yourself to confinement and a fine,” Beebie said.
And the Plattsburgh City Council decided Thursday night that they should be able to keep the fines paid by people peeing in public.
While public urination may be a plague in Plattsburgh, and I defer to the good people of Plattsburgh to explain whether this is a phenomenon peculiar to them, the…