What's next for the Exclusion Zone?

EUGENE, Ore. -- Eugene Police called it a "long term experiment" to fight crime. "The exclusion zone is just one tool," said police analyst Terry Smith.

A business owner said it's "the right step" to help downtown Eugene. "It's definitely had an impact," said Tom Kamis, owner of Davis' Restaurant & Bar.

One man who was excluded for having pot said it's a violation of his rights.

There are mixed reviews on the Exclusion Zone that bans people who break the law from a 20 block area of downtown Eugene. The two-year-old ordinance is up for review.

Right now police and courts can kick law breakers out of Downtown Eugene. The controversial ordinance is about to expire.

Eugene's Exclusion Zone took effect two years ago. Since then, nearly 100 people have been banned from Downtown.

The Exclusion Zone allows judges to ban offenders from Downtown streets from 30 days to a year if they're convicted of certain crimes. The zone covers twenty city blocks.

The City Council will hold a work session on the exclusion zone on Oct. 25. The Police Commission has recommended the ordinance be extended indefinitely. The commission recently discussed adding sex offenses to the list of crimes that could get you excluded.

The ACLU opposes extending the exclusion zone.  Claire Syrett said people accused of crimes are offered an attorney in municipal court.

"Most of the people that are subject to these kind of sanctions aren't necessarily going to understand all the additional steps they are going to have to follow because they got this additional citation for the exclusion," Syrett said.

Those who are supporting it said there are checks and balances that make the Exclusion Zone worth keeping.
    
"The accumulative effect of removing the worst of the bad actors out of the community, out of downtown, will take some time to see in the numbers," Smith said.

It's now up to the City Council to weigh in.

KVAL News will let you know if they schedule a public hearing and when they plan to vote.