Minutes ago, the mayor’s office handed over a press release announcing that the Drug and Prostitution Free Zone policies are no more.

The stated reason: Potter has determined that “both laws have not been effective in eliminating the drug addition [Guess he means “addiction”—Scott] that drives these crimes. Additionally, new data indicates a disparity in how the Drug Free Zone law has been enforced.”

I would never—never—say “We told you so,” but, hey, we told you so.

The decision to let the laws die is based on a report by consultant John Campbell, who found that African Americans are more likely to be excluded than Caucasians when arrested for drug offenses. Interestingly, the press release even includes a breakdown on how different drugs are treated, almost repeating word for word what I wrote about the data last week:

Arrests for methamphetamine account for much of the disparity, though not all of it. Exclusion rates for those arrested for cocaine (the majority of whom are African American) are significantly higher than exclusion rates for those arrested for exclusion-qualifying meth crimes (the majority of whom are White).

(Read Campbell’s full report in pdf here.)

“I have concluded that both programs are no longer serving their intended purpose and act only to suppress a serious community problem rather than solving it,” Potter is quoted as saying in the press release. “I believe there are better, more effective ways to solve drug dealing and prostitution so businesses and neighborhoods can be free from the toll these crimes take on our livability and sense of safety.”

It’s an about face for his office, which has spent the last two years seeking ways to justify the extension of the policy. Now that there is an analysis by a third-party consultant who has come to the same conclusions that critics have been pointing out for years, there’s little Potter could have done.

As an alternative, Potter is going to work with Randy Leonard on expanding drug treatment services and better utilizing the Project 57 program, which makes jail beds available for drug offenders so they’re not just returned to the streets (which, ahem, I wrote about here). I’m currently sitting in the lobby of Leonard’s office, waiting while he’s chatting with State Rep Chip Shields, a longtime vocal critic of the DFZs.

“This is a very good day for civil liberties, the Constitution, and public safety,” says Shields, who Leonard just jokingly referred to as a “complete pain in the ass.” Unlike the DFZs, Shields explains, expanding the Project 57 and treatment program will make sure that dealers’ lives are “significantly interrupted,” and they’ll be directed into treatment, which will actually deal with the base problem.