Drug Free School Zones
White Paper
Presented to the Croton Community Coalition
This White Paper presents some information on the potential effect of designating Croton
Harmon High School and the fields at Carrie E. Thompson School as Drug Free School
Zones.
1. Provisions of the Drug Free School Zone Designation
Drug Free School Zones are established by section S 220.44 of the New York State
Criminal Law. The Drug Free School Zone Designation creates a zone around a
designated property that encompasses schools, buses, cars and any other locations within
1000 feet of the property. When a property is designated a Drug Free School Zone,
additional penalties and fines apply to certain drug sales charges.
The Drug Free School Zone designation does not affect violations involving alcohol or
marijuana. It does affect penalties and fines related to the sale of Schedule 1,2,3,4 and 5
narcotics. This includes substances such as cocaine, crack cocaine, heroin, prescription
medication such as oxycontin, vicodin, and xanax. When a Drug Free Zone is
established, additional fines and penalties may apply for those caught selling these
narcotic drugs within the designated zone. (To be clear, “sell” means to sell, exchange,
give or dispose of to another, or to offer or agree to do the same.) The law applies
specifically to sale and not to use of these substances.
The Drug Free School Zone law makes the criminal sale of a controlled substance in or
near school grounds a class B felony. Without having the above law to charge an
individual, the charge may be a class C or D felony. The charge of a class B felony
carries greater possible fines and penalties than a class C or D felony. The law does not
require any mandatory charges or sentencing, but it allows for the possibility of a more
serious charge and related consequences.
The law requires that a person must have knowledge that they are within the grounds of a
child day care or educational facility and therefore notice of the Drug Free School Zone
must be conspicuously posted alerting to the public to the presence or proximity of a
facility that has a Drug Free Zone designation.
2. Geography affected by Drug Free School Zone designation of Croton Harmon
High School and the fields at Carrie E. Thompson School
As described above, the Drug Free School Zone applies to all schools, buses, cars and
any other locations within 1000 feet of the property. Maps of the areas that would be
impacted are attached.
3. Surrounding communities that have the Drug Free School Zones in place
The following surrounding school communities have Drug Free School Zones in place:
Ossining, Hendrick Hudson, Yorktown, Peekskill, and Lakeland, just to name a few.
Conversations with law enforcement professionals in these communities indicate that the
greatest benefit of the Drug Free School Zone designation is the strong message that it
sends that this is a community committed to protecting youth and preventing drug sales in
areas where young people congregate. They indicate that the law offers them one more
tool that they can use in a situation that involves the sale of drugs that threaten the health
of young people in the community.
4. With students reporting that alcohol and marijuana are the substances used most,
why the interest in a designation that doesn't cover either
Prevention research shows that when communities have strong laws and norms that
discourage use, there is less drug use in the community. Even though this law does not
directly affect alcohol and marijuana, the presence of the signs helps establish a
community norm that discourages all drug use. Also, drug dealers usually sell more than
one “product.” Finally, national trends show an increase in prescription drug use among
youth. While this may not be the most compelling issue in our area, having a community
law that specifically addresses the sale of prescription drugs on and around school
grounds may have a deterrent effect.
5. How would incidents involving category 1-5 narcotics in the vicinity of the
schools be handled now, without the Drug Free School Zone designation? How
would the Drug Free School Zone change the handling of those cases?
The Drug Free School Zones designation provides an additional tool to law enforcement
professionals, but it does not take away any flexibility and/or discretion on the part of our
local law enforcement. Each incident is handled on its own merits and there are many
circumstances that impact the charges brought in any criminal incident. Therefore, we
cannot state definitively that a case handled this way now, would be handled this way if
the law were in effect. There are too many variables outside the existence of one law that
impact the handling of a case. We can say that the impetus behind the Drug Free School
Zone designation is not to increase felony arrests, but to send a clear message to all drug
dealers that they are not welcome in our community and especially near our schools.
The Westchester County District Attorney’s Office has been contacted regarding this
matter and is in full support of the Croton Harmon School District being designated as a
Drug Free School Zone. Their letter of support will follow.