Center for Problem-Oriented Policing

Summary of Responses to Disorder at Day Laborer Sites

The table below summarizes the responses to problems associated with day laborers, the mechanism by which they are intended to work, the conditions under which they ought to work best, and some factors you should consider before implementing a particular response. It is critical that you tailor responses to local circumstances, and that you can justify each response based on reliable analysis. In most cases, an effective strategy will involve implementing several different responses. Law enforcement responses alone are seldom effective in reducing or solving the problem.

Response No.	Response	How It Works	Works Best If…	Considerations
Managing Day Laboring
1	Improving the organization at current day laborer sites	Promotes orderly and lawful behavior and establishes site controls	…the organization is efficient and addresses laborers' and employers' needs	Assumes current sites are acceptable to area residents and merchants and land use is permitted
2	Imposing time restrictions on day labor activities	Reduces the opportunities for problem behavior to occur	…time restrictions are enforced and the sites are managed during designated times	Can be temporary until a day labor center is built, or it can be permanent; requires routine police presence
3	Establishing new day labor centers	Organizes and controls the location and process of day laboring	…the design is efficient and other measures are taken to ensure it is used	Expensive; time-consuming; requires ongoing oversight and management
3a	Using volunteers to manage day labor centers	Ensures day labor centers run and are maintained properly, and provides capable guardianship	…volunteers are sampled from a variety of groups to increase the "ownership" of the centers	Reduces costs; will need continued governance by someone or some entity
3b	Soliciting help from area merchants	Increases ownership of the problem	…merchants have a vested interest in addressing the problem	Amount of help will vary across merchants
3c	Obtaining grants and other financial support	Eliminates the need for tax dollars	…a detailed and compelling case is provided for the needed funds	Use examples of successful day labor sites; takes time and effort to prepare proposals
3d	Creating and enforcing rules and procedures at day labor centers and sites	Formalizes the day- laboring process, increases efficiency, and sets boundaries	…rules are clearly defined and posted, and laborers and employers participate in formulating them	Requires day laborer and employer input; will require establishing sanctions for violations
3e	Forming an advisory committee	Ensures center is maintained and increases ownership	…advisors have an interest in and can contribute to the center's success	Select advisors from various groups or organizations; consider incentives for participation
4	Establishing supplemental programs at day labor centers	Encourages law-abiding behavior and provides access to legitimate services	…the provided services meet the laborers' needs	Increased costs; requires additional space at the centers
5	Closing streets and alleys, diverting traffic, or regulating parking	Decreases traffic congestion and increases employers' ability to find and negotiate with laborers	…the affected community supports the changes	Potentially costly; can harm legitimate commercial traffic; may lock the problem in rather than forcing it out
Enforcing Laws
6	Enforcing laws prohibiting disorder (e.g. trespassing, loitering, public intoxication, littering, and vandalism)	Temporarily establishes order at day labor sites	…enforcement is combined with other effective responses	Has only a short-term impact; may displace day labor practice to other areas
7	Enforcing laws prohibiting assault and robbery	Temporarily establishes order at day labor sites, and establishes police control of the area(s)	…a prosecution will result in meaningful sanctions	Will be difficult to obtain witnesses for a prosecutable case
8	Establishing a highly visible police presence	Discourages unruly or unlawful behavior among day laborers	…it is supplemented with environmental changes or site relocation	Labor- intensive; may create the perception that the area is unsafe
9	Creating and enforcing ordinances prohibiting the solicitation of work in non-designated places	Displaces day labor activities to designated sites	…enforcement is consistent, and the designated sites are useful and efficient for laborers and employers	Requires adoption by the city council; takes time and may not pass due to legal concerns
10	Enhancing fines/penalties for soliciting work or hiring workers in non-specified zones	Increases the incentive to use designated day labor sites	…the fines are high enough and collection is certain	New informal day labor sites may emerge in other places convenient for laborers and employers
11	Initiating public- awareness campaigns	Informs the community of new rules for day-laboring activities and encourages compliance	…police follow through with enforcing the rules and changes are made at designated day labor sites	Proper dissemination will reduce contempt for police when they enforce the law; widespread community awareness may encourage anti-immigrant views
Responses With Limited Effectiveness
12	Conducting sweeps and enforcing immigration laws	Temporarily removes illegal-immigrant laborers from the area		Produces distrust of the police by illegal immigrants throughout the community
13	Prohibiting day laboring outright	Seeks to eliminate day labor sites and activities citywide		Ineffective as a long-term solution; could displace day laboring

Center for Problem-Oriented Policing

Summary of Responses to Disorder at Day Laborer Sites

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Disorder at Day Laborer Sites

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