Door-to-door salespeople will face new restrictions in Longview after the City Council's approval of a "proactive recommendation" from the police department.
Police Chief Anthony Boone proposed the changes recently to the council. The rules will restrict the hours that someone might solicit at a private residence to noon-6 p.m. The hours previously were 9 a.m.-8 p.m.
"That really tries to catch it where it's mostly daylight hours throughout the entire year," he said.
Boone said that when he's talked to residents, especially older residents, "when they get a knock on the door at 7:45 in the evening, they get a little nervous."
Police spokesman LaDarian Brown said there haven't been any incidents that prompted the change. It is "solely a proactive recommendation," made to prevent something from happening instead of waiting for there to be an incident.
Brown said the police department has issued about 100 permits for outdoor soliciting in the past two years.
Another change approved by council also makes the soliciting rules align with other types of city permits that require background checks. People who apply for a soliciting permit also will be required to submit to a background check.
Boone said a person would be denied a permit if the background check discovers "anything in regard to a misdemeanor or felony involving violence, fraud, theft, burglary or a sexually oriented crime."
Those requirements already apply to people seeking permits for credit access businesses, precious metals businesses, second-hand dealers, metal recycling and sexually oriented businesses.
