Arrests of Homeless People for Camping on Lakeland City-Owned Property Is Not Solving the Issue

Being Homeless is not a crime

Lakeland Police have increased patrols of certain parts of the city at the behest of the Community Redevelopment Agency — and have charged almost a dozen people experiencing homelessness with camping or trespassing on city-owned property over the past two months.

Local governments across the U.S. have been punishing people for being poor and not having a home. Is this not the definition of cruelty?

The U.S. Supreme Court signaled its agreement by refusing to consider a petition to overturn the Ninth Circuit’s Martin v. City of Boise ruling. The case’s central holding is: “An ordinance violates the Eighth Amendment insofar as it imposes criminal sanctions against homeless individuals for sleeping outdoors, on public property, when no alternative shelter is available to them.” In other words, fining or jailing a homeless person, because they have no place to stay, violates the U.S. Constitution’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

And yet, city, county, and state governments across the country, along with business associations, chambers of commerce, and law enforcement associations, filed amicus briefs asking the court to reverse the Martin decision and effectively empower governments to criminalize homelessness.

“The streets cannot be the solution for permanent housing,” said Steve Turbeville, president and CEO of Lighthouse Ministries. “As a provider for caring for the homeless, we need the help of law enforcement to be able to protect everyone in our community including the homeless, the businesses, and property owners who need to avoid risk that creates liability for them or their families.”

Turbeville said the most viable and financially feasible solutions to help the homeless are life-learning campuses, opportunity centers, and housing.

“This is a process and we must be strategic to offer dignity and a better quality of life,” Tubeville said. “Let’s work harder and smarter to bring people indoors and actively engaged in their rescue and recovery. Shelters and residential campuses with opportunity gateways are a better solution.”

The issue of homelessness has hindered city leaders for decades, particularly as Lakeland has worked to revive its downtown over the past 25 years.

City leaders, business owners, and concerned residents say plans to revitalize Munn Park cannot move forward until the city creates a viable alternative for homeless people.

Julie Townsend, executive director of the LDDA, said she does not like to use the word homeless and called it a behavior issue.

“How do we create a level of expectation of behaviors?  Arresting people over and over again for their behaviors is not the answer,” Townsend said. “Homelessness is not a crime. How do we mitigate the bad behaviors?”

The constant cycle of arrests and fines does the opposite. Money spent on police, courts, and jails as a response to homelessness takes away resources that the government could direct to housing and services. The criminalization of homelessness is part of a larger pattern in this country of turning to law enforcement to solve societal problems, such as substance abuse, mental illness, and poverty — a pattern that has made the U.S. a leader in incarceration while only exacerbating those problems.