STAY AWAY ORDERS FOR REPEAT DRUG OFFENDERS IN NORTH AUSTIN

Officials hope the newly implemented tactic will help tackle an
intersection's long-standing problems with crime.

In an effort to keep repeat criminals away from East Rundberg Lane
and Interstate 35, an area of North Austin that has been a haven for
drug dealers and prostitutes and a source of neighbors' complaints,
Austin police and Travis County district attorney's officials have
teamed up to start using "stay-away orders" in the area.

While their criminal cases are pending and they're out on bail,
suspected drug offenders with stay-away orders aren't allowed in the
area. Violating the order could land them back in jail, and their
behavior would be considered in assessing their sentences.

Stay-away orders are for those facing felony drug charges, such as
possession or delivery of a controlled substance, said Austin senior
patrol officer Michael Youngs. They're for people with whom police
have dealt before, those with an arrest history, "those who have
demonstrated that they will be back," he said.

"We need to keep out the people who caused (trouble) in the first
place," Youngs said.

Stay-away orders can be used for prostitution as well, he said.

The concept has been used for four or five years in Southeast Austin
and downtown, officials said. No one has violated the orders,
Assistant District Attorney Claire Dawson-Brown said.

A stay-away order helps not only a community but also the person
charged by keeping the person away from the way of life, Dawson-Brown said.

Residents have organized marches and tried to clean up the area
around Rundberg and I-35, which police say has been a problem area
for drugs and prostitution for at least 15 years. In January,
residents asked city and county officials for stay-away orders.

Phil Otken, acting president of the North Creek Georgian Acres
Neighborhood Association, which includes businesses at Rundberg and
I-35, said he is hopeful the orders will work, but he'll wait to see.

"If we do a lot of work and no net result occurs - in other words,
there is no change in the neighborhood - we have failed," he said.

The stay-away order is a condition for bail, Youngs said. Offenders
will receive a map showing the area they must avoid. Off limits will
be all businesses with a driveway or opening on Rundberg from I-35
to about Barrington Elementary School, near Lamar Boulevard,
and vacant lots behind the businesses.

Officials have been ready to issue stay-away orders in the area
since last month, but none had been sought by police as of Dec. 23.

"At any moment it could happen," Dawson-Brown said. "Everyone's
ready. Judges have been briefed. Just waiting for the first one to
come through."