SAN DIEGO — The City of San Diego began enforcing its homeless encampment ban just over one month ago.
"We see a lot of tent areas," said Mike who lives downtown.
He walks his dog around Petco Park every day and CBS 8 asked if he's noticed a difference since the city began enforcing the encampment ban on July 31.
"I would say some areas are cleaned up but then three or four days later the people are back or different groups are back," he said.
Homeless advocates fear criminalizing homelessness only makes it worse.
"All we're doing is moving people from one sidewalk to another. People aren't getting help because there's not enough help available. On average there are about 25 shelter beds available every day for the thousands and thousands of people," said Michael McConnell, a homeless advocate.
The San Diego Police Department says non-law enforcement outreach talks with people and offers them shelter and if this doesn't work then officers will make contact.
"We want them to get off the streets and we also understand we're trying to change behavior and to change behavior it takes trust," said Captain Shawn Takeuchi with SDPD.
He said officers are only enforcing the ban where "no camping" signs are posted.
"We're sticking to the parks and schools those are the volatile part of our community, The kids and school are back in session," he said.
They've seen noticeable progress around Balboa Park. Over the first month of the ban, Takeuchi says officers made contact with 88 people citywide.
"Those 88 individuals were offered shelter, offered services and really educated by the law," he said.
The department has issued five citations to people who refused to obey the law after officers came into contact with them a second time. No arrests have been made.
Watch Related: San Diego City Council approves homeless encampment ban (Jun 14, 2023)