Item A: Downtown Public Safety Zone

Home Browse Search

Downtown Public Safety Zone – Program Update Introduction In August 2008, the Eugene City Council adopted Ordinance 20419, creating a Downtown Public Safety Zone, (DPSZ) and allowing Municipal Court judges to issue exclusion orders for certain offenders in and from the Downtown Public Safety Zone. The ordinance created a 20-block area in downtown Eugene where officers could request that the courts issue a temporary civil exclusion for persons arrested for certain offenses committed in this area. In September 2010, the Police Commission held a public forum and from that input, offered recommendations to the City Council. Addressing several of the recommendations, the City Council adopted Ordinance 20467 in December 2010. They voted to extend the Downtown Public Safety Zone until April 30, 2012, at which time the Ordinance will sunset. When the City sought the April 30, 2012 extension, it anticipated the increased police patrol resources dedicated to downtown and increased jail bed capacity would ameliorate the need for the Downtown Public Safety Zone. However, the recent budget crisis has resulted in a reduction in jail beds to a point lower than in August 2008. Additionally, the increased patrol presence downtown has revealed greater problems, as indicated by increased citations. The use of exclusion for chronic offenders in the downtown core was identified as one step to reduce the incidence of adult predators harming more vulnerable populations, such as youth and people who are homeless (un-housed) and chronically inebriated adults. thth The boundaries of the DPSZ are from Lincoln to Pearl Street between 7 and 11 Avenue, excluding the thth Lane County Courthouse block and extending to Lawrence Street between 7 and 8 Avenue. The area includes the Eugene Library, LTD Transit Station, WOW Hall, the downtown core and the park blocks. From January 1, 2011 through November 30, 2011, 73 civil exclusions for 90-day and one-year were issued by the Eugene Municipal Court. In total, since the beginning of the DPSZ exclusion program in October 2008, through November 30, 2011, a total of 185, 90-day and one-year exclusions were issued. (Ordinance No. 20419, adopted in August 2008, was implemented in October 2008.) The 185 exclusions granted by the court and shown in Figure 2, represent 3.3 percent of the 5,632 total offenses that occurred in the three-year period following the adoption of the DPSZ ordinance. These are the offenses listed in Table 1, that occurred within the DPSZ geographic boundaries. With the adoption of Ordinance No. 20467 in December 2010, a requirement was added to the notices to show cause, which are issued by police officers, to provide information that the person has the right to use the City’s advocacy program at no cost. This notice must also provide contact information for the advocacy program. The Municipal Court established the program, printed the flyer providing information about the DPSZ Ordinance, exclusions, variances, and the advocacy program. To date, no one issued a notice to show cause has contacted the advocate program. Quantitative Data Overall, arrests and citations have increased in the DPSZ since Ordinance No. 20419 was implemented in October of 2008. The total number of arrests and citations for the three-year period before the implementation of the DPSZ was 4,487. In the three-year period following the start of the DPSZ program, arrests and citations occurring within the boundaries of the DPSZ increased to 5,493; an increase of 22 Page 2 of 16