D.C. police have always been able to cite people for marijuana use but not take them into custody, but the new policy makes it standard practice. (Photo by Dank Depot)

D.C. police say they will take fewer people into custody when they are caught using marijuana in public, and instead cite them the way they would someone caught for a moving violation.

The new policy was announced late Friday by Mayor Muriel Bowser and Chief Peter Newsham. It says that most arrests for the public use of marijuana, which is illegal in D.C., will now be noncustodial, meaning that the suspect will be cited but not arrested. Instead, suspects will be ordered to appear at a local police station within 15 days, where they can either pay a $25 fine or choose to contest the charge in court.

Police have always been able to cite people for marijuana use but not take them into custody, but the new policy makes it standard practice. The only exceptions will be for juveniles, anyone with a warrant or pending criminal charge against them, a person who refuses to identify themselves, or is engaged in other illegal activity at the time. The policy also won’t apply on federal lands which make up 22 percent of the city, nor will federal police agencies like the Park Police or Secret Service be required to abide by it.

In a statement, Bowser said the change in policy would help improve relations between police and the community, which have been rocky since a number of aggressive police stops over the summer were caught on camera.

“We cherish the trust we have built between residents and the police,” she said. “This policy will reduce the number of people who are taken into custody and allow us to better focus our efforts and resources.”

Though the possession of small amounts of marijuana, along with the use and cultivation in personal homes, became legal in D.C. in 2015, selling and using it in public remained against the law. But confusion over the extent of the legalization law has led to an increase in the number of arrests for public consumption shortly after the legalization law took effect.

In 2016, more than 282 people were arrested for using marijuana in public, more than double the number in 2015. By last year, the number dropped slightly, to 266 arrests. Data released by D.C. police also shows a spike in arrests for possession with intent to distribute, which some attribute to an increase in the number of pop-up events where marijuana is sold, and a consistent racial disparity in marijuana arrests, with more than 80 percent of those arrested being black. Overall arrests for possession of marijuana have dropped dramatically, though, from more than 2,600 in 2012 to fewer than 20 last year.

D.C. officials, including Bowser, have said they want to fully legalize and tax the sale of marijuana, but they have been blocked by congressional Republicans.

This story originally appeared on WAMU.