LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – The City of Las Vegas looks to expand its Order Out Corridor after 246 offenders have been banned around the Fremont Street Experience and the Strat, while the ACLU vows to continue its challenge in court.
Last fall, FOX5 told you about the proposal that was passed unanimously by the Las Vegas City Council in November: a new “order out” corridor applies to 144 acres around Fremont Street, and 67 acres around the Strat. The previous “order out“ from the City was implemented in the 1990’s, and applied only to people convicted of prostitution and drugs. The current Order Out applies to other misdemeanors.
City attorneys said 246 people were ordered out of the tourism corridors by a judge; 75 of those people were arrested again for violating their order. According to city attorneys, the most common crimes leading to court orders were casino trespass and battery. The duration of the order can last six months to a year, city officials said.
Mayor Carolyn Goodman, police and other city officials agreed with the need for expansion of the corridor to encompass nearby Main Street Station and the Plaza Hotel and Casino. Goodman instructed city staff and attorneys to work on a draft for an ordinance.
“A lot of these individuals that come down here, they’ve been here before. You could say they’re frequent flyers, so they are repeat offenders,” said Lt. Timothy Mullins of the Fremont Street Substation. “Our officers, Metro officers and the Marshals alike have become familiar with a lot of them,” he said.
“Since we implemented the Order Out, it’s been very effective. It’s definitely provided for a safer environment, a more memorable experience overall,” Mullins said, citing a 10% drop in aggravated assaults around the Fremont Street Experience and 40% drop around the Strat.
The president and CEO of the Fremont Street Experience helped launch the Order Out and said it is needed for the tourism area with plenty of foot traffic.
“It’s made a noticeable difference for our guests down here. There’s no reason somebody should have to encounter the same criminal over and over again,” said President and CEO Andrew Simon. “This has been a huge boon for all our people here, for our security, dealing with the same people every day,” he said.
The ACLU of Nevada has filed an amicus brief in response to the city’s proposal, challenging the premise of the ban and its wide scope.
Our organization believes is unconstitutional. It interferes with the freedom of movement, the right to travel,” said Athar Haseebullah of the ACLU. “With our penal code so large, you can be criminalized for almost anything to force folks to stay away from certain areas. What the city is going to look to do is the same thing that the counties look to do, which is remove the people that they find undesirable from an area that they view as important, but they don’t want those folks around,” he said.
“Taxpayers pay for what’s happening on Fremont Street. You can be forced away from an area that you’re effectively subsidizing through your own taxpayer money,” he said, concerned with any expansion of the Order Out.
The ACLU is still appealing a case against Clark County’s Order Out Corridor on the Las Vegas Strip, waiting for a review from the Nevada Supreme Court.
Copyright 2024 KVVU. All rights reserved.
