Sacramento County to let deputies clear homeless from public land without offering shelter
Sacramento County Sheriff’s deputies and park rangers will likely soon have additional authority to move homeless people off public property without offering a shelter bed.
The Sacramento County Supervisor Rich Desmond said during a board meeting Tuesday that the change, made possible due to the U.S. Supreme Court Grants Pass decision, would “allow prioritization be done by law enforcement on encampments that are particularly problematic.”
The Grants Pass ruling in June overturned the 2018 Martin v. Boise ruling and is generally interpreted to mean cities can go back to clearing and citing homeless camps on public property without offering shelter beds.
“Just because we are gonna hopefully pass this today does not mean we are gonna lay off the gas in continuing to prioritize services and help for those who need it,” Desmond said before the board voted unanimously to put the item on its Nov. 5 agenda. “This relatively simple change provides simplicity and clarity that will make decisions for law enforcement, and those most affected by the camps, much easier.”
The ordinance would require officials to give homeless people 48 hours’ notice before clearing camps and vehicles on public property, except when “the encampment poses an imminent threat to public health or safety or is within 1,000 feet of a shelter providing services to homeless individuals.”
Previously, the ordinance required a 25-foot radius from shelters.
Sacramento District Attorney Thien Ho, who sued the city of Sacramento in part to push for more criminal citations for camping-related violations, praised the board for the ordinance.
“This is going to bring the county of Sacramento into an area of consistency with many other jurisdictions including Elk Grove, and I think that’s incredibly important,” Ho told the board Tuesday. “Even the city has moved toward this direction as well. It is a humanitarian crisis, it’s an environmental crisis and I know this particular board has made great efforts and strides to deal with this.”
Undersheriff Mike Ziegler said the ordinance will not change operations much, as deputies will continue to focus on crimes being committed against the homeless such as sexual assault and domestic violence.
“We saw a lot of the unhoused being victimized by a small portion of the unhoused,” Ziegler told the board. “So, we pretty much stopped doing sweeps ... will this (ordinance amendment) change how the Sheriff’s Office deals with the homeless crisis in Sacramento? I don’t think so. After Grants Pass, we were getting a lot of calls, ‘What are you gonna do different?’ We aren’t doing anything different. Focusing on victimization aspect of it is the best approach for the Sheriff’s Office to do.”
Sacramento Homeless Union president Crystal Sanchez said despite those comments, deputies are still doing sweeps and she believes deputies will do more after Nov. 5.
“This could lead to increased instability and vulnerability for those experiencing homelessness, as they will be forced to relocate frequently without access to necessary support or a place to go,” Sanchez said. “It will displace people out-of-sight and out-of-mind where their public safety will be compromised. Additionally, the disruption could exacerbate existing challenges such as mental health issues and access to mobile organizations providing services and information especially regarding respites as winter is coming in.”
When the Supreme Court announced its Grants Pass decision, Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg said the ruling would not greatly impact the city’s handling of homeless camps. However, in the following days, staff added an unlawful camping category to its 311 system, which is the system by which residents can complain about camps.
Sacramento police are actively issuing criminal citations for camping-related violations, according to police data, which often carry fines of over $200.
It’s unclear whether Sheriff’s deputies or county park rangers are writing similar tickets. Ken Casparis, spokesman for the county regional parks department, and Sgt. Amar Gandhi, Sheriff’s Office spokesman, did not immediately provide answers to that question.
A deputy did in March issue a misdemeanor criminal citation, written on regional parks paperwork, to homeless woman Carol Dutcher for trespassing at her camp in Rio Linda. Dutcher has been unable to make it to her court dates, which means a warrant might be issued.
The county spends more than $220 million annually on services for homeless and on clearing homeless camps, according to a staff report.
A similar ordinance specific to the American River Parkway has been in effect since September 2022. The new amendment would expand it to all public property, including public buildings, sidewalks, streets and other parcels.
Representatives of the Downtown Sacramento Partnership and Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce spoke at the meeting in favor of the ordinance amendment.
This story was originally published October 22, 2024 at 2:36 PM.
