GEORGETOWN, Texas (KXAN) — Since its breakout in 2017, only 230 cite and release citations have been given in Williamson County. The number of local marijuana arrests filed with the county has also nearly vanished, with that number for 2022 trickling in at only 3.
Corby Holcomb, the first attorney for the Williamson County Attorney’s Office, said ‘cite and release’ legislation was passed in Texas back in 2007, but the county wouldn’t be approached by a police department about issuing citations for minor infractions until 2017.
“It’s just another tool for officers to use, and it’s really up to their discretion,” said Holcomb.
Though 230 might seems low for a county of nearly 600,000, Holcomb said that could be for a few reasons. That cite and release are optional, and only a few departments in the county practice them.
He also said the pandemic has influenced how many people departments have arrested in the last few years, so any numbers collected may not share a complete picture.
“With COVID, it’s been so weird,” said Holcomb. “There for a while [police] weren’t arresting, so the numbers are also kind of off.”
He said marijuana arrests only account for a percentage of cite and release cases, with the others being linked to crimes like petty theft. Possession of marijuana arrests have been trending down in the county the last few years, as well as making that portion even smaller.
The County Attorney’s Office…