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Police in Dallas, Texas are considering a new plan that calls for writing tickets to some shoplifters instead of arresting them.
The Dallas Police Officers Association says it will allow officers more time to patrol the streets. "Higher priority calls, like robberies and burglaries, we'll be working on those more," said Ron Pinkston of the Dallas Police Officers Association.
As it stands now, a shoplifter who steals anything between $50 and $500 is taken straight to jail, a process that can take an officer off the streets for two or three hours.
"State law has changed so that departments can now write citations for Class B misdemeanors including theft," said police spokesman Senior Cpl. Kevin Janse. That means if a person steals something worth less than $500, they will get a ticket and be sent home.
Some store owners said the change would send a bad message to criminals. "If you are going to be more lenient because of overcrowding, it makes criminals think I'm not going to have to pay a big price," said Weldon Haynes, manager of Tapelenders Video Store.
Dallas police are ironing out the procedures for the pilot program but expect said they expect to implement it as soon as August 1st.