MADISON'S RACIST LAW

The Anti-Loitering Ordinance Is Harmful And Counter-Productive

Madison's loitering ordinance has been receiving lots of criticism lately
for disproportionately targeting minorities. While this is true, it is
definitely not the law's only problem.

The law, which Mayor Sue Bauman vetoed last week, gives police the
authority to stop anyone who is hanging out in a "drug-trafficking zone."

If at first glance this ordinance seems extremely ambiguous and cryptic, it
is. The law does not clearly define what loitering is, nor does it explain
how drug-trafficking zones are designated as such. What it does is give the
police the power to stop and harass whomever they want, whenever they want,
for whatever reason they want.

If the language and scope of the ordinance are purposely undefined and
vague, the motivations behind it are anything but. If you look at who and
what the law has been used to target, the intentions of its founders
immediately become crystal clear.

Statistics reveal that the law has been, in practice, little more than a
legal justification for racial profiling. A disproportionate number of
people receiving citations under it have been minorities (last year, 80
percent of citations were given to African Americans alone). Furthermore,
over 70 percent of the citations came from the Burr Oaks neighborhood,
which is home to a large minority population.

When asked to explain these puzzlingly disproportionate and seemingly
racist statistics, Police Chief Richard Williams simply shrugs his
shoulders and says he doesn't know any white drug dealers.

Although such statistics should make it clear this law is both racist and
unconstitutional, City Council has favorably reviewed it three times. It
was most recently re-approved Feb. 19 when the Council voted 11-7 to
indefinitely extend it.

Thankfully, the mayor vetoed the ordinance. However, Bauman didn't go far
enough in condemning this horrible law; instead of advocating its complete
removal, she urged City Council to slowly phase it out over a long period
of time, during which the city would supposedly formulate a new method of
attack.

The matter will be set to rest once and for all Tuesday night when City
Council decides whether to keep the law as is, phase it out over time or do
away with it altogether.

The answer is clear: the city should immediately dispense with this
ordinance. There is no reason to hold onto this bad law even a day longer
than necessary. It is not only racist and unconstitutional, but a worthless
and counter-productive piece of legislation as well.

The loitering ordinance is a cop-out, a superficial and useless solution to
Madison's drug problems. Because it is relatively simple to arrest or fine
lots of people for supposed involvement in the type of open-air drug
dealing the ordinance specifically targets, at the end of the year, the
police department can point to a long list of drug arrest and citations
facilitated by the loitering ordinance and pat itself on the back for a job
well done.

The police can use these statistics not only as evidence of "success," but
also as an excuse not to delve deeper into the real issues and problems
plaguing Madison. This law is nothing but an easy way out -- it allows the
police to delude themselves into thinking they are making progress, when in
reality they are ignoring the much bigger drug problems going on right
under their noses (remember Jocko's, anyone?)

The proof is all around you. Drug usage in Madison certainly hasn't gone
down because of the loitering ordinance. This is especially true among
students, who, as a group, probably do a lot more drugs than the residents
of the "drug-trafficking zones" (i.e., minority neighborhoods) targeted by
the ordinance. For students, it's easy to forget drugs are even illegal
because -- unless you do something really tactless and stupid -- the
chances of getting in trouble are almost non-existent.

I'm not suggesting the city necessarily start cracking down on drug users.
What I am saying is that if the city truly wants to solve its drugs
problems, it first needs to come to a better understanding of what exactly
those problems are. A good first step would be getting rid of the loitering
ordinance, which is nothing but racist and counter-productive.