People who work and live in Hammond, Indiana have had mixed reactions after the city council voted 7-to-2 to pass an ordinance regulating the operating hours of gas stations in an effort to curb violence and crime.
The ordinance passed during the council's meeting on Monday night.
“I’m very shocked by that, but I understand safety is first” said one man, who drives through Hammond to get gas.
Under the ordinance approved at the council meeting Monday night, the city said gas stations in Hammond will have to close between midnight and 5 a.m. as part of the mayor’s efforts to address violent crimes at gas stations.
“In some ways it could be a good idea,” said Tony Laczkowski, who works in Hammond. “I guess it does lessen the amount of crime that could happen, but I think what about people who have to work overnight.”
Mayor Thomas McDermott first introduced the ordinance back in July following the shooting death of a 33-year-old man. He said since then officers have responded to calls of robberies and carjackings at different gas stations on numerous occasions.
“Every time there’s an incident in the middle of the night we have to respond with multiple officers,” said mayor McDermott. “I have 14 officers working at 2 in the morning and five or six of them will be tied up at a gas station—it’s just not a wise deployment of these resources either.”
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Some gas station owners in Hammond are fighting back, not happy about the ordinance. Yadvinder Singh told NBC Chicago his family owns three gas stations and plans to file a petition with the city to keep them open 24 hours.
“This is not a problem with crime,” he said. “Crime is more on the streets, not on the gas stations.”
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The city said the Board of Public Works and Safety, made up of three officials including the assistant chief of police, will review those petitions. Exceptions will be made based on several factors, whether it’s a hot spot for crime or if a security plan and other measures are in place to ensure the safety of customers.
“We expect probably some type of restraining order to be filed against us,” said McDermott. “We feel strongly and confident that we have a great legal case because we’re doing this for all the right reasons, which is controlling our crime rate in the city of Hammond, the violent crime, the gun use, and wise deployment of police resources.”
The new ordinance goes into effect Nov. 1. The mayor told NBC Chicago around 30 gas stations in Hammond already close at midnight.
Suburban communities in Illinois, like Oak Park, already have similar ordinances in place.
