Records Reveal 131 Camping Arrests
Submitted by marlon on November 11, 2007 - 1:23am.
Records recently obtained from the Sarasota City Police Department indicate that 131 arrests have been made this year for violations of the so-called "anti-lodging ordinance". The number is unexpectedly high, considering past claims by police and city officials that few - if any - homeless people were being arrested because of this law.
Sarasota ordinance 05-4640 is a controversial measure which effectively makes it a crime to sleep anywhere outdoors in city limits without the explicit permission of the property owner. It gives police officers a free hand to arrest people sleeping outside even if the property owner was unaware of or unconcerned with the sleeper's presence. The language of the law specifically targets homeless people when it states that a person is in violation when "The person is asleep and when awakened states that he or she has no other place to live."
Police and city officials have claimed in the past that Sarasota's anti-lodging ordinance was intended to help the homeless get off the streets and into a shelter, not put them behind bars. The ordinance includes a provision which allows officers the option to transport a first-time offender to the Salvation Army shelter instead of arresting them. The police department's own records paint a different picture, however, with a high of 34 people being arrested in one month for "lodging out-of-doors".
Many homeless people claim that the actual number of homeless routinely arrested is significantly higher, because the police frequently substitute other charges when possible. "I got picked up for open container just the other day," One man reported. "My buddy got [arrested for] lodging, but I got open container." Police have been reported to perform raids on encampments which the homeless make in the woods to stay out of public view, in which everyone in the camp is detained and searched while the police determine what crimes they can be arrested for.
More information about the arrests this year can be found in the document below.
Sarasota ordinance 05-4640 is a controversial measure which effectively makes it a crime to sleep anywhere outdoors in city limits without the explicit permission of the property owner. It gives police officers a free hand to arrest people sleeping outside even if the property owner was unaware of or unconcerned with the sleeper's presence. The language of the law specifically targets homeless people when it states that a person is in violation when "The person is asleep and when awakened states that he or she has no other place to live."
Police and city officials have claimed in the past that Sarasota's anti-lodging ordinance was intended to help the homeless get off the streets and into a shelter, not put them behind bars. The ordinance includes a provision which allows officers the option to transport a first-time offender to the Salvation Army shelter instead of arresting them. The police department's own records paint a different picture, however, with a high of 34 people being arrested in one month for "lodging out-of-doors".
Many homeless people claim that the actual number of homeless routinely arrested is significantly higher, because the police frequently substitute other charges when possible. "I got picked up for open container just the other day," One man reported. "My buddy got [arrested for] lodging, but I got open container." Police have been reported to perform raids on encampments which the homeless make in the woods to stay out of public view, in which everyone in the camp is detained and searched while the police determine what crimes they can be arrested for.
More information about the arrests this year can be found in the document below.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Lodging Ordinance Incident List 20070101-20070511 web.pdf | 851.64 KB |
Besides the fact it seems to be the city's M.O., this is particularly ridiculous, not to mention oppressive.
I remember there was some mobilization around this issue at the end of last year that involved homeless folks, students and others, and I was wondering what ever came of it. What was the city's position and the logic behind it? When, how, and why was the anti-lodging ordinance created in the first place?
Finally, who has the ultimate say in overturning the ordinance. Is it the commissioners? Can we put this to a popular referendum? Any polling been done to see how the majority of Sarasota folks feel about this?
This one seems like a no-brainer. No wonder Sarasota was voted as one of the "meanest cities" to the homeless a year or two ago.