Item C: Downtown Public Safety Issues

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Hate-Related Harassment The Human Rights Commission had a preliminary interest session last year, followed by a scoping session in early April 2008, to discuss the possibility of enhancing protections for individuals from hate- related harassment. A number of problem behaviors that are illegal in other states are lawful in Oregon and Eugene, adding considerable tension to an already challenging problem. New city ordinance(s) are possible that balance free speech rights with the rights of individuals to be free from such harassment. Some crime-related laws carry enhanced penalties for commission within certain areas. For example, drug sales within proximity to schools are often escalated in severity. Similarly, other cities have created “drug-free,” “prostitution-free,” or other types of zones targeting particular problem behaviors. These are not exclusionary zones but enhanced enforcement zones, generally effective if adequately posted and enforced. Exclusionary Zones Exclusionary zones are another enforcement tool that has been utilized in the past by the City of Eugene, with varied levels of success and controversy. The Prostitution Exclusion Zone ordinance applied to the West Jefferson and Whiteaker neighborhoods some years ago virtually eradicated street level prostitution in those neighborhoods without transferring it to another area in Eugene. Parks exclusions are used as an effective tool to temporarily forbid certain offenders from remaining or returning to all City parks. Parks exclusions have been fairly uncontroversial while providing officers with an alternative to incarceration that displaces chronic violators, creating a greater sense of safety in local parks and playgrounds. When the downtown core was a pedestrian mall, an exclusion ordinance allowed officers to prohibit repeat offenders from returning to the limited geographical area known as the downtown mall for brief periods. Officers considered the ordinance to be an effective method for reducing crime. Both the Prostitution Exclusion ordinance and the downtown Mall Exclusion Ordinance were applied in some measure to members of vulnerable populations who accessed social services located within the exclusion zones. Allowing subjects excluded by ordinance into the zone for important services was occasionally challenging. The City received complaints that exclusions were not consistently applied, leading to some perception of disparate enforcement. Other cities have had similar experiences with exclusion zones intended to address prostitution, drug sales and possession, and behavior crimes. The critical component of an effective exclusion zone is a consistent police presence. Some recent news articles describing the use of these zones are included as Attachment A. RELATED CITY POLICIES This topic relates to the Safe Community Vision: A community where people feel safe, valued, and welcome. In addition, the topic also relates to several of the council’s 10 goals: the Homeless, Sustainability, Downtown and Police initiatives. Absent a significant change in the service expectations of the community, the mid and long-term solution to these issues remains the addition of officer capacity by the addition of sworn staff and their associated support requirements. The Mayor and City Council have identified this need via the designation of this subject as one of the City Council’s 10 priority goal issues. F:\CMO\2008 Council Agendas\M080414\S090414C.doc