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<br /> <br />ECC <br />UGENE ITY OUNCIL <br />AIS <br />GENDA TEM UMMARY <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />Work Session: Discussion Concerning Downtown Public Safety Zone <br /> <br /> <br />Meeting Date: July 25, 2012 Agenda Item Number: C <br />Department: Eugene Police Staff Contact: Pete Kerns, Chief of Police <br />www.eugene-or.gov Contact Telephone Number: 541-682-5102 <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />ISSUE STATEMENT <br /> <br />This is an opportunity for the City Council to discuss the options around the Downtown Public Safety <br />Zone, which is scheduled to sunset November 30, 2012. <br /> <br /> <br />BACKGROUND <br /> <br />The City Council adopted the Downtown Public Safety Zone (DPSZ) Ordinance No. 20419 in August <br />2008. Most recently, the City Council extended the ordinance until November 30, 2012. This <br />discussion is intended to provide an opportunity to update the City Council on the status of the use of the <br />tool since the last City Council report in February, to outline possible options moving forward, and to <br />ascertain how the council wishes to proceed. <br /> <br />In December 2009, the Downtown Safety Task Team prepared a list of recommendations they believed <br />would improve downtown safety and make the downtown a more welcoming place. Subsequently, the <br />12-Point Downtown Safety Improvement Plan was adopted by the City Council in January 2010. <br />Inherent in the recommendation was the understanding that the lack of jail beds as a sanction remains a <br />critical component to the persistent problems occurring downtown. The civil exclusion process is a tool <br />to offset the lack of jail sanctions, to create an alternative to incarceration for chronic violators, and to <br />improve the safety in the downtown core. <br /> <br />As long as there is inadequate jail bed capacity to meet the demand, the Downtown Public Safety Zone <br />has functioned as a stop-gap measure, to hold offenders accountable, and reduce the number of re- <br />offenders in the downtown core. Other services to support individuals in crisis like CAHOOTS and <br />youth services are also critical to improving safety downtown. <br /> <br />Data Available <br />Since the last council discussion about the Downtown Public Safety Zone, staff have implemented <br />several measures to improve timely and thorough access to data for all new cases since March. <br />Additionally, staff is working backwards to hand-tabulate this information prior to March 2012. <br />Currently, this additional data is available for all cases since January 2012. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />S:\CMO\2012 Council Agendas\M120725\S120725C.doc <br />