Exclusion zone 'an experiment ... about the crime problem downtown'

EUGENE, Ore. - If police cite you for any of a number of crimes, a judge can ban you from downtown for 90 days or a year - without a conviction.

Eugene implemented the Downtown Public Safety Zone, informally known as the exclusion zone, to kick frequent troublemakers out of the area.

"The exclusion zone is just one tool," said Terry Smith, an analyst with the Eugene Police Department. "We've got a serious persistent long-standing crime problem in downtown. We have an inadequate jail. We are engaged in an experiment to see if by policing only we can do something about the crime problem downtown."

Since 2008, almost 100 people have been excluded from downtown.

"Has it made downtown safer? The data that we show here shows that for one kind of problem, alcohol-involved, people who chronically trespass or harass people and businesses, it's been very successful," Smith said. "It's moved them out of downtown."

So where did they go?

The same police analysis shows that after the exclusion zone went into effect, alcohol and trespass crimes moved west to the Washington-Jefferson Park area.

After businesses there voluntarily banned the sales of cheap fortified alcohol, those categories of crimes moved again - this time to the West University neighborhood.

Police have adjusted their strategy to combat crime as it moves around town - and out of downtown.

Tom Kamis said he has seen a dramatic difference downtown.

"It's definitely had an impact," said Tom Kamis, owner of Davis' Restaurant and Bar. "Having these people out of the downtown has definitely improved the downtown. Safer, a little more walkable, and you don't get hassled half as much."

"I don't think I've noticed as many problems," said Lara Hawthorne, owner of Hawthorne's Cafe and Deli. "I don't know if it's because they're not down here or if it's because of the things they are working on down at the mall to try to clean up things."

"I don't see drug sales happening flagrantly in the daytime," Kamis said, "and when I walk in my back alley I see less needles."

The perception that downtown isn't safe will take time to change, he said.

"I think it's just going to take a little bit of time for things to settle in and say 'OK, it's not a bad place to go,'" Kamis said.