During Homecoming Week, the Moscow Police Department (MPD) used plainclothed officers to give 11 minor in possession (MIP) infractions on and around the University of Idaho campus.
Four paid officers and one or two volunteer officers worked undercover in Moscow, said MPD Corporal Casey Green.
Diamond Koloski | Argonaut
Corporal Casey Green of the Moscow Police Department scouts around campus during his daily routine 3 p.m. Tuesday outside the Idaho Commons.
Freshman Arya Gibson was walking with two friends near The Perch when her group was stopped by two undercover officers.
“I wasn’t intoxicated, but I was holding a beverage,” she said. “They were just wearing these sweatshirts and these hats and they had like their hoods up and jeans. They looked really casual. They looked like alumni or something.”
The officers identified themselves as members of the MPD and asked Gibson for identification. She presented her Vandal ID card and told officers she was 18. Gibson was cited with an MIP.
“It was in my possession,” she said. “But it’s kind of bull because it was just like, I was holding one beer. It’s not like I got pulled over and had a 30 rack in my car. I feel like that’s a possession charge.”
Gibson said she was recovering from strep throat and taking antibiotics, so she wasn’t actually drinking. As she was leaving a party, someone handed her a beer and she didn’t think to toss it before taking to the sidewalk.
“I was just holding it basically,” she said. “I thought, ‘Oh maybe my friend will want this. I don’t really want it.’ But I didn’t want to be rude.”
Green said MPD sends plainclothes officers to enforce alcohol consumption laws several times at the beginning of each semester and at times when MPD knows there will be more people in town. Undercover officers aren’t assigned to a specific area during patrol.
“They go wherever they want,” Green said. “They go places where, like, we know parties are going on. Officers driving around the area see, ‘Hey there’s a large group of people here,’ and they may try to go work that area and see what they can do to help. As long as they’re within the bounds of the city.”
One officer is following up on a case from the night because he received false information from a person he encountered.
As a result, the person will face two or three additional citations because of the false information, Green said.
“(The officer) wasn’t able to properly identify them at the time,” he said. “In the state of Idaho you have to present a photo ID to an officer, specifically related to alcohol crimes. If alcohol is involved and you don’t properly identify yourself, you can get arrested. We have done that here in the past.”
Green said the officer likely did not feel an arrest was necessary.
An MIP or minor in consumption (MIC) infraction carries a $487.50 fine if found guilty, and does not require a court appearance or a public defender to do so.
Green said officers use the infraction as an opportunity to inform violators of the law and its recent changes.
“They even use it as a tool to tell people, ‘Look, you know, you’ve been detained for an MIP or MIC. Realizing that it’s no longer a criminal offense, let’s not make it a bigger deal than it is,’” Green said.
He said, in the eyes of the law, an MIP/MIC infraction is the same as running a stop sign or getting a speeding ticket. A second offense is considered a misdemeanor.
“Now you have to appear in court, and the fines will be adjusted by the court at that point,” Green said.
In February, legislation moving the first MIP and MIC from a misdemeanor to an infraction cleared the Idaho House of Representatives on a 65-2 vote, according to a report from the Spokesman Review. The bill came at the recommendation of the Misdemeanor Reclassification Subcommittee of Idaho’s Criminal Justice Commission. The bill passed the Senate 65-0.
Governor C. L. “Butch” Otter signed HB 494 April 5 and the law took effect July 1. According to the American Civil Liberties Union of Idaho, the change will ease the burden on public defenders.
The law seals and vacates the record of any MIP or MIC citations if the there are no further violations for five years after.
“The penalties are still there,” Gannon said to the House. “This is pretty much what we do with the juveniles under 18 anyway.”
Green said the fine associated with MIP/MIC infractions went up significantly as part of the decriminalization.
Undercover officers can be used to police other problems.
“We can even do it if we’re having a persistent problem in one neighborhood,” Green said. “We use plain clothes details to do vehicle burglary investigations.”
During a vehicle prowl investigation, an officer is stationed in the area to watch for suspicious activity.
“In the past, we’ve used plain clothes officers and bicycle officers to go out and sit in neighborhoods and watch,” Green said. “You sit in places where you can see a lot of distances. And when you see people moving you go find out what they’re doing. We use them to secure crime scenes.”
Tess Fox can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @tesstakesphotos
AMber
I was the bodycam footage from Banfield. The officer never present badges and are driving a regular vehicle. It was actually pretty dangerous, what if they were not the police and instead the murderer.
T. Jefferson
Gotta love the opportunity to be found guilty without a court appearance. I guess we really are moving towards that beloved Marxist society all of these air-head liberals keep talking about. Socialism... f-yeah!