SAN DIEGO — New numbers are out on the city of San Diego's efforts to clear out homeless encampments. It has been four months since police started cracking down on encampments on public property.
Tara Chaffee currently is living in a tent downtown near State Route 163. She said officers have come out to clean up the area.
“They come by and do a cleanup. So, we have to clear all of our stuff out so they can do the cleanup. And then after that, we can come back,” Chaffee said.
Under the city's Unsafe Camping Ordinance police can issue citations to people living on public property. The new law went into effect on August 1. Since then, SDPD officers have made two arrests, issued nine citations, and given warnings to 177 people living on the streets, according to SDPD.
The city said it only arrests people as a last resort. Instead, they try to get people to move off the streets and into a shelter, like the two tent cities near Balboa Park, also known as safe sleeping areas.
Tim Lucey lives right next door to one of them. “If I had no place to go and that was offered to me and if it was safe, I would think that's a great deal for a night. It's not a permanent solution,” Lucey said.
A man named Mike who was living on the streets downtown told CBS 8 he is a veteran. He said he has no plans to move into a city-run shelter, even if it’s free. “No, nothing is free in life, except air,” he said.
Chaffee said she recently lived in one of the safe sleeping areas and she had nothing but praise for the city. “They're actually wonderful, you know, they have power, people can shower. They help people get their IDs, get jobs. It's a really good thing they're doing,” Chaffee said.
Unfortunately, her time in the city shelter did not last long due to a domestic violence incident. “I got kicked out and I'm fighting to get back in and I've had problem after problem. So, I just got to prove to myself that won't happen again,” she said.
City of San Diego spokesperson, Rachel Laing, released the following statement to CBS 8:
“Contacts, which can also be called “warnings,” are the first time an officer tells a person they are unauthorized to camp at any time in a particular place, at which time they’re offered shelter. If the person does not leave the area, upon the next contact, police will issue a citation. After that, an individual can be arrested and taken into custody. Importantly, a critical piece of this entire process happens prior to commencement of enforcement. The enforcement has taken place in phases, with enforcement starting around schools and in parks, with priority determined by number of complaints/calls for service tracked through calls to Council/Mayor’s offices, Get It Done, and other outreach by San Diegans to the city. Once an area has been determined to be in line for enforcement, signs are put up notifying people that camping is prohibited 24/7, and city-directed outreach workers work with individuals in the area to connect them with shelter and resources prior to enforcement. Once officers do begin enforcement in an area, they offer shelter at every interaction, as the goal is not to cite or arrest people but to encourage their acceptance of shelter that ultimately will become their first step toward ending their period of homelessness. Much of the success of the Unsafe Camping Ordinance in clearing unlawful encampments is a result of the efforts of outreach workers and these pre-enforcement interactions. Bottom line is that I would urge you not to infer from these relatively low numbers that enforcement is not being conducted. It has in fact been conducted consistently day in and day out since Aug. 1 across the city, in phases as planned.”
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