Public Conduct in Shreveport, LA

Shreveport maintains 152 local ordinances across all categories, and 8 of those deal specifically with public conduct. Here is a breakdown of what the city actually requires, what is prohibited, and where Shreveport falls on the strict-to-permissive spectrum compared to other cities.

Jaywalking

Shreveport requires pedestrians to cross only at a marked or unmarked crosswalk in the business district, and bars crossing anywhere else there entirely. Outside the business district, a pedestrian who crosses mid-block must yield the right-of-way to every vehicle on the roadway, and ignoring that yield duty is what draws a citation.

Key details: Citation: § 90-458. Business district rule: Crosswalk crossing required, no exceptions. Elsewhere rule: § 90-459: must yield outside crosswalk. Crossing angle: § 90-461: right angles to curb. General penalty: § 1-14: up to $1,000 or 60 days.

Crossing a roadway anywhere other than a crosswalk within Shreveport's business district violates Section 90-458(b) outright. Elsewhere, crossing outside a marked or unmarked crosswalk without yielding to oncoming vehicles violates Section 90-459's right-of-way duty. Article X pedestrian provisions carry no listed fine, so a citation is punished under the general penalty in Section 1-14, up to $1,000.00, 60 days' imprisonment, or both.

Public Urination

Shreveport makes it a criminal offense to urinate or defecate on any street, sidewalk, gutter, alley or driveway within the city. Code of Ordinances Sec. 50-156 carries a fine of up to $500.00, up to 60 days in jail, or both, and Shreveport police enforce it citywide with no exceptions written into the text.

Key details: Maximum fine: $500.00. Maximum jail term: 60 days. Covered locations: Streets, sidewalks, gutters, alleys, driveways. Adopted: Ord. No. 40, 1989, 4-11-89. Enforcement: Shreveport Police Department, criminal citation.

A conviction under Sec. 50-156 is punishable by a fine of up to $500.00, imprisonment for up to 60 days, or both, at the discretion of Shreveport Municipal Court. There is no separate civil citation track and no diversion program written into the ordinance itself, so every charge proceeds as a criminal misdemeanor prosecuted by the city attorney's office, the same office that handles the neighboring public-drunkenness and disorderly-conduct offenses in Chapter 50.

Loitering Rules

Willfully blocking a sidewalk, street, alley, or the entrance to a public building in Shreveport is a crime under Code of Ordinances Sec. 50-140. Anyone who impedes, hinders, or restrains foot or vehicle traffic on a public passageway faces up to $500 in fines or 60 days in jail.

Key details: Citation: Code of Ordinances Sec. 50-140. Penalty: Up to $500 fine or 60 days jail. Covers: Sidewalks, streets, alleys, public building entrances. Exception: Construction and official safety barricades. Origin: Code 1971 § 21-16; Ord. No. 40, 1989.

A conviction under Sec. 50-140 carries a fine of up to $500.00, up to 60 days in jail, or both, set by the same 1989 ordinance that recodified Chapter 50. There is no escalated penalty tier written into this section for repeat offenders, unlike neighboring traffic offenses in the same chapter. Shreveport police issue citations returnable to city court, and the safety-barricade and official-duty exceptions in subsection (b) operate as complete defenses, not mitigating factors, when the obstruction was placed for construction, maintenance, or by a government officer performing duties.

This is one of the stricter rules in Shreveport's municipal code. If you are unsure whether your situation complies, it is worth checking with the city before proceeding.

Public Marijuana Use

Shreveport punishes simple marijuana possession with a fine-only summons, not a custodial arrest. Under Code of Ordinances Sec. 50-122, anyone caught with marijuana, THC or its chemical derivatives without a valid prescription faces a $50 fine, provided the amount stays under 14 grams, the substance isn't a synthetic cannabinoid, and the person is at least 18.

Key details: Maximum fine: $50.00, no jail time authorized. Possession threshold: Applies only under 14 grams. Enforcement method: Summons in lieu of custodial arrest. Adopted: Ord. No. 34, 2021, effective 3-23-21. Excluded: Synthetic cannabinoids and persons under 18.

A first-time violation under Sec. 50-122 is a fine only, capped at $50.00, with no custodial arrest permitted and enforcement handled through a summons under La. C.Cr.P. art. 211. Courts must offer indigent defendants alternatives to jail, such as installment payments or community service, rather than incarceration. Possessing more than 14 grams, possessing synthetic cannabinoids, or being under 18 removes the case from this ordinance and exposes the person to prosecution under the state's felony-tier marijuana statute, R.S. 40:966.

Outdoor Smoking Restrictions

Shreveport's Smokefree Air Act reaches outdoors too: Sec. 50-212 bans smoking in any playground or park, within 25 feet of a city or parish building entrance, and anywhere on hospital or medical-facility grounds including the public sidewalks abutting them. Violations run $25 to $100 in escalating fines under Sec. 50-214.

Key details: Park/playground smoking: Banned outright, Sec. 50-212(a)(8). Government building buffer: 25 feet from entrances/exits. Hospital grounds: No smoking, including abutting sidewalks. First-offense fine: $25.00, rising to $100.00 by third. Effective date: August 8, 2020.

Enforcement runs by citation under Sec. 50-214: a first offense under most of the outdoor and indoor prohibitions in Sec. 50-212(a)(1) through (a)(4) is a $25.00 fine, a second offense is $50.00, and a third or subsequent offense is $100.00. Employers who knowingly permit smoking in a covered enclosed area face steeper fines: $100.00 for a first offense, $250.00 for a second offense in the same year, and $500.00 for a third or subsequent offense in the same year.

Compared to other cities, Shreveport takes a harder line on outdoor smoking restrictions. The enforcement and penalty structure reflects that.

Aggressive Panhandling

Shreveport doesn't ban panhandling outright, but Code of Ordinances Sec. 50-166 bars soliciting within 15 feet of ATMs, pay phones, bus stops, and building entrances, on posted private property, or from drivers in traffic. Accosting someone or continuing to solicit after a refusal is a separate, harder-edged violation.

Key details: Buffer distance: 15 feet from ATMs, phones, bus stops, doors. Aggressive conduct banned: Accosting or forcing oneself upon another. Exemption: City-permitted charitable solicitation organizations. Adopted: Ord. No. 189, 2004, 11-30-04.

Violating any of the location-based restrictions in subsection (b), or the accosting/forcing-oneself-upon-another conduct ban in subsection (c), is a misdemeanor prosecuted the same way as other Chapter 50 public-order offenses. The ordinance itself doesn't set out a distinct fine schedule for Sec. 50-166, so sentencing follows the city's general misdemeanor penalty framework applied by Shreveport Municipal Court, with charitable organizations holding a Chapter 42 solicitation permit exempt from the location bars entirely.

Compared to other cities, Shreveport takes a harder line on aggressive panhandling. The enforcement and penalty structure reflects that.

Skateboarding Rules

Roller skates, roller blades and skateboards are banned outright on any public street, sidewalk, park or other public place inside Shreveport's B-4/Central Business District, with a carved-out exception for the stretch of the Clyde Fant Bike Trail that runs through downtown. Outside the district, skaters must stay off roadways except when crossing at a crosswalk.

Key details: Ban zone: B-4/Central Business District streets, sidewalks, parks. Exempt corridor: Clyde Fant Bike Trail segment in CBD. Citywide roadway rule: No skating on any roadway except crosswalks. First offense fine: $100.00. Repeat offense fine: $200.00.

Shreveport Police issue citations under section 90-3(c), which sets its own fine schedule rather than relying on the chapter's general penalty: $100.00 for a first violation and $200.00 for any subsequent violation, whether the offense occurred on a citywide roadway or inside the stricter B-4/Central Business District zone. Because chapter 90 offenses are treated as traffic cases, section 1-16 adds a nonrefundable $10.00 court cost on conviction.

Compared to other cities, Shreveport takes a harder line on skateboarding rules. The enforcement and penalty structure reflects that.

Public Alcohol Use

Shreveport Code § 10-190 bans drinking or carrying an open alcoholic beverage on any public street or sidewalk, in a business parking lot, or in public view outside an enclosed structure, anywhere in the city. The one carve-out is the mapped Red River District, where patrons may carry drinks in an approved 16-ounce logo cup under strict hours and container rules.

Key details: Governing section: § 10-190. General penalty: Up to $1,000 fine or 60 days jail. Exception zone: Red River District (Ord. No. 179, 2023). Approved cup limit: 16 fl. oz., non-glass, logo cup. No-sale hours in district: 2:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m..

Section 10-190 sets no fine of its own, so a violation defaults to the Code's general penalty, § 1-14: up to a $1,000 fine, up to 60 days in jail, or both, with each day of a continuing violation counted as a separate offense. Shreveport Police cite open-container violations on sight; inside the Red River District, a permittee that lets a customer leave with an unapproved cup risks the same general penalty.

This is not one of those rules that cities tend to ignore. Shreveport actively enforces its public alcohol use requirements.

The Bottom Line

Shreveport is tougher than many cities when it comes to public conduct. Out of the 8 rules covered here, 5 are rated strict. If you are a homeowner, renter, or business owner in Shreveport, take the time to understand these requirements before they become a problem. Most violations come with fines, and some repeat violations can escalate.

Keep in mind that Shreveport can amend these rules at any council meeting. For the most current version of any rule mentioned here, check the specific ordinance page, where we track updates as they happen.