Home » A Small Minnesota County Pumps Out 40 Percent of the State’s Drug-Free Zone Sentences

A Small Minnesota County Pumps Out 40 Percent of the State’s Drug-Free Zone Sentences

Local news reports detail how Polk County, Minnesota, charges drivers and petty offenders with drug-free zone violations like no other county in the state.

InMinnesota,theepicenterofprosecutionsforviolatingdrug-freeschoolandparkzonelawsisn’tMinneapolis,butsmallPolkCounty.Thecountycontainslessthan1percentofthestate’spopulation,butit’sresponsiblefor40percentofitsdrug-freeschoolprosecutions,morethananyothercounty,accordingtolocalnewsreports. ThechargingpracticeswerefirstreportedbytheGrandForksHeraldlastyear.TheMinnesotaReformerfollowedupwithaninvestigationlastweekrevealinghowPolkCountyprosecutorsuseddrug-freezonelawstotargetpettydrugoffenderswhoinadvertentlydrovethroughoneofthenumerouszonesorwereinaprivateresidence.TheReformerfoundthatthenumberofdrug-freeschoolzonechargesinPolkCountyskyrocketedafterthestateloweredthecriminalpenaltiesforpettydrugcrimes. All50statesandtheDistrictofColumbiahavedrug-freezonelaws,whichenhancesentencesfordrugcrimescommittedwithinacertaindistanceofschools,parks