In the weeks leading up to Unsafe Camping Ordinance enforcement, which began last week, outreach teams worked hard to educate people near parks and schools about the new law. Through that process, several people who were unhoused said yes to shelter and services. 

Several more people have said yes to the City’s offer of shelter and services after engaging with officers last week during the first few days of Unsafe Camping Ordinance enforcement.  

For example, over the just the first three days, officers made contact with 30 individuals who were violating the Unsafe Camping Ordinance. Three arrests were made – all of them for outstanding warrants. Two citations were issued, and three people contacted accepted placement into shelter. I will note that one of those three people who accepted shelter did so after being cited for violation of the ordinance. 

While major change won’t be immediate, what we’re doing through the Unsafe Camping Ordinance and our other enforcement tools is resetting expectations about what type of behavior is allowed on our public streets and sidewalks. 

Those expectations and norms had been clouded during the pandemic and the City’s emergency response to it. But we are now actively reasserting those expectations and being very clear that we are not a city for encampments. We are not a city where people can live in filth. We are not a city where people will be left outside in unsafe encampments. 

There will be bumps along the road and we won’t change everyone’s behavior overnight; this is difficult work and our outreach workers and SDPD officers are out there every single day dealing with human beings who have very specific individual needs. But as we encounter those bumps and feedback from the folks we’re trying to serve, we will continue to be dynamic, responsive and willing to change things as we go to get the job done. 

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