Banned from 16th Street: Dozens ordered by court to stay away

[Liberal_in_LA]

The homeless 21-year-old has spent the past two years getting high, selling weed to buy crystal meth, shoplifting, stealing and illegally weaving down the 16th Street Mall on his skateboard. At night, he sleeps "anywhere," sometimes curling up in the vestibule outside a Taco Bell or a bank downtown.

This is why he was banned from the mall.

Dozens, maybe hundreds, of people have been banned from the mall, the most densely populated street in all of Colorado and Denver's No. 1 tourist attraction.

The mall is the most densely populated street in Colorado, packed daily with downtown workers, tourists and the homeless. Only when someone is a continual problem do police request an area restriction. (Craig F. Walker, The Denver Post)
The policy — little-known outside law enforcement and the courthouse — raises questions about the balance between public safety and civil rights, and the effectiveness of banning drug addicts, shoplifters and general troublemakers from one area of the city. Authorities do not track area restrictions or study their effectiveness, so it's unclear whether they curb crime or move it elsewhere.

Law officers in Denver and other cities increasingly are using area restrictions to reduce crime in high-traffic areas. In Denver, the practice has spread from banning prostitutes along East Colfax Avenue and heroin addicts from the Cherry Creek Trail to banishing repeat offenders from downtown.

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_27575680/banned-from-16th-street-dozens-ordered-by-court
Judges are signing 16th Street Mall area bans at the request of Denver police and the city attorney, marking as off-limits three blocks from 15th to 18th Street on a mile-long stretch from Broadway to Wynkoop. But no one can say how many people have been banished: The Denver Police Department does not keep a list; neither does the city attorney or the district attorney or the courthouse.

[android fan]

1. Just that you guys know... there are no vehicle traffic on 16th street mall

except for buses and authorized vehicles (as in cops/ambulance) only.

Two light rails run perpendicular on 16th Street Mall on California and Stout.



I work for two buildings near the 16th street mall, and they are fun - but also have to be aware of the homeless population where there are tons.