A Minnesota town used its anti-crime law against a protected class. It’s not the only one

By JOHN HANNA
Associated Press

Hundreds of communities across the U.S. have for decades tried to reduce crime, fight gangs and tackle noise and other neighborhood problems through the use of “crime-free” or “public nuisance” laws encouraging and allowing landlords to evict renters when police or emergency crews are repeatedly called to the same addresses. Long the subject of criticism that such policies are ineffective and enforced more harshly in poor neighborhoods and against people of color, the ordinances are now under scrutiny as sources of mental health discrimination. Last year, the U.S. Department of Justice even told a Minnesota town that its enforcement of such a law discriminated against people with mental health disabilities.