Highland residents respond to squatter solution

Yahoo

03-04-2025

SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – Ordinance 18, proposed by Shreveport Mayor Tom Arceneaux and approved by the Shreveport City Council, is a solution to the ever-growing squatting problem.
'Illegal squatting is not just a property issue—it's a public safety crisis that has contributed to increased crime, drug activity, and quality-of-life concerns for our residents,' Arceneaux said.
Corporal Chris Bordelon with the Shreveport Police Department says this new ordinance allows the city to be the complainant rather than a homeowner. Unfortunately, with squatters, the homeowner is typically difficult to reach or is an LLC.
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'This will give us an opportunity to cite individuals that are on property that doesn't belong to them, and that doesn't have working utilities, meaning that it doesn't have water or electricity those types of things, so it allows the state to be the complainant, or the city in this case to be the complainant,' said Bordelon.
The ordinance gives SPD a new crime for which they can cite individuals. The Highland Neighborhood Association has had a Squatting Task Force since April 2024. They have also had neighborhood meetings with city officials, SPD, property standards, and the attorney since July 2024.
'This is what we've been hoping for is an option for neighbors to, you know, people who live there and see the houses, and know that they are vacant or that they should be vacant and they're not habitable, to call and report and issue going on inside of houses,' said Charlotte Russell, president of the Highland Neighborhood Association.
The ordinance will go into effect Thursday, April 3, 2025, paired with an SPD initiative A.S.K. B.L.U.E. (Addressing Squatters Knowledgeably – Bold Legal Unified Efforts).
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Phase 1: Community engagement: SPD will launch a public awareness campaign encouraging residents to report squatting locations through Port City 311 or call SPD at 318-673-6950.
Phase 2: Investigation & enforcement: Law enforcement teams will verify reports, identify offenders, educate squatters on the new law, and offer resources and alternatives.
Phase 3. Saturation and arrests: SPD will deploy patrols to heavily impacted areas, issue citations, execute outstanding warrants, and make arrests where necessary.
'The goal of the police department is not to arrest everybody in the city for squatting. However, there are situations in which we have to take action to preserve our community, to preserve our neighborhoods, and this just gives us a legal way to do so,' Bordelon said.
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Bordelon also applauds Arceneaux, who proposed the ordinance, for having the idea to take the civil side of litigation and turn it into a criminal ordinance.
Russell says this is a step forward in the historic area of Highland, where vacant homes affect the quality of life.
'We are hoping that we'll be able to quantify the blight in our neighborhood, the vacant houses, the boarded-up houses, houses that are falling down or burned out so that we can work with local organizations and the city to address those concerns,' said Russell.
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