Kenner, LA Public Conduct: Loitering Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Drug loitering section
- Kenner Code § 7-131
- Gang loitering section
- Kenner Code § 7-186
- Gang loitering fine
- $100.00 to $500.00 per offense
- Gang loitering community service
- Up to 120 hours
- Enforcing agency
- Kenner Police Department
Summary
The City of Kenner criminalizes two specific forms of loitering: drug-traffic loitering under Sec. 7-131, which targets soliciting drug transactions in public places, and gang loitering under Sec. 7-186, which lets a Kenner police officer order suspected criminal-street-gang members to disperse from a public place on pain of arrest.
(a)A person is guilty of drug-traffic loitering if the person remains in a public place and intentionally solicits, induces, entices, or procures another to engage in unlawful conduct contrary to La. Rev. Stat. 40:966-971.1 et seq., or the equivalent federal statute, state statute, or ordinance of any political subdivision of the state. ... (a)Whenever a police officer observes a person whom he reasonably believes to be a member of a criminal street gang, as defined in subsection (c)(2), loitering in any public place with one or more other persons, he shall order all such persons to disperse and remove themselves from the area. Any person who does not promptly obey such an order is in violation of this section. ... Any person who violates this section is subject to a fine of not less than one hundred dollars ($100.00) and not more than five hundred dollars ($500.00) for each offense, or imprisonment for not more than sixty (60) days, or both. In addition to or instead of the above penalties, any person who violates this section may be required to perform up to one hundred twenty (120) hours of community service.
Full Breakdown
Section 7-131 makes a person guilty of drug-traffic loitering if the person remains in a public place and intentionally solicits, induces, entices, or procures another to engage in unlawful drug conduct under La. Rev. Stat. 40:966-971.1. The section lists seven circumstances an officer may weigh, including possessing drug paraphernalia, being a known drug trafficker within the past two years, repeatedly beckoning to passersby or motorists, or being under a court order to stay out of a drug-affected area; merely remaining in a public place without soliciting anyone is expressly not a violation.
Section 7-186, adopted by Ord. No. 7668 in March 1997, addresses a different scenario: when a Kenner police officer reasonably believes a person loitering in a public place with one or more others is a member of a criminal street gang, defined as three or more persons with a common name, sign, or pattern of gang crimes such as armed robbery, aggravated arson, or drug sales, the officer must order the group to disperse, and failure to promptly obey is itself the offense. It is an affirmative defense that the person was not in fact a gang member.
Neither section requires a completed drug sale or gang crime to occur; both are built around the loitering conduct and the officer's dispersal order or the solicitation itself, and the Kenner Police Department is the enforcing agency for both.
Violations & Fines
Section 7-131 carries no separate fine schedule listed within it, so it defaults to Sec. 7-3's general penalty of up to $500.00 and up to 60 days in jail for Chapter 7 offenses without a stated penalty. Gang loitering under Sec. 7-186 is punishable by a fine of not less than $100.00 and not more than $500.00 for each offense, imprisonment for not more than 60 days, or both, and a court may impose up to 120 hours of community service in addition to or instead of those penalties.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Kenner police order a group to disperse just for loitering?
What makes loitering a drug-traffic offense in Kenner?
What is the penalty for gang loitering in Kenner?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Kenner
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