Ordinance explained, Chief details need for no-loitering ordinance

While no police committee meeting has been scheduled to date, Newcastle Police Chief Derek Thompson said he hopes to have one scheduled soon to address the need for a loitering ordinance for Newcastle.

“My primary objective in seeking to implement this ordinance is to deal with problem behavior that has occurred for some time in the Washington Park Plaza, commonly referred to as the Loaf N Jug parking lot,” Thompson told the News Letter Journal in an email. “The ordinance could also be used to help out other businesses and property owners with problem individuals that won’t stay away from their establishments.”

Thompson said he likes an ordinance he found in Riverton. It requires the consent of the owner to loiter on the property.

“The ordinance I would like to see implemented would require the property owner to post signs stating loitering is not allowed on their property. This would give businesses the option of whether or not they wanted to allow people to congregate at their establishment for purposes outside of the intended primary use of the property,” Thompson said.

He noted, for instance, that a business or property owner could allow people to congregate if they wanted to do so, as long as there were no signs posted stating otherwise.

According to Thompson, he tends to believe there may be a misconception that the Newcastle Police Department could use the Wyoming criminal trespass statute to address the issue.

“While it could be done, in theory, it really isn’t a clean and efficient way of dealing with (the) problem, in practice,” he said. “In order to use the criminal trespass statute, signs would need to be posted or individuals would need to be advised they are not allowed on the premises by the property owner or his agent, or by law enforcement.”

The state statute, Thompson said, does not provide for limited trespass exceptions, which would be necessary for people to continue to engage in commerce in the areas the police are dealing with.

The criminal trespass state statute states that “a person is guilty of criminal trespass if he enters or remains on or in the land or premises of another person, knowing he is not authorized to do so, or after being notified to depart or to not trespass.” Notice is given, according to the statute, by personal communication or by posting of signs reasonably likely to come to the attention of intruders.

Criminal trespass is listed as a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than six months, a fine of not more than $750, or both.

The state statute, he continued, would thereby prohibit all unauthorized personnel from entering the premises, if signs were posted.

“The last thing I want to do is interfere with people running their businesses the way they see fit,” Thompson said. “Private businesses are what make the world go-round. We need to do as much as we can for the businesses in our town to help our town thrive.”