24 homeless people were recently jailed for living outside in Sacramento County
Twenty-four individuals were booked into Sacramento County jail custody — facing only charges related to being homeless — over a period of four weeks, an analysis of recent booking data shows.
Three more people faced only camping charges and charges related to trespassing and damaging property.
The records show that collectively, the 24 individuals spent 10 days, 14 hours and 9 minutes behind bars from May 23 to June 23. Using the average daily cost to house someone in the Sacramento County Main Jail — $199.73 before any medical expenses — their collective time behind bars cost taxpayers over $2,100.
Between March 9 and June 23, reporting shows that the county has spent about $9,200 jailing people whose booking charges were only related to camping, storing personal property outdoors and, in some cases, also trespassing. A majority were arrested under Sacramento City Code.
Two of the people whose booking records only cite camping charges — Elizabeth Williams and Regina Camacho — previously spoke with The Sacramento Bee about their experiences being jailed for living outside. Both of them were arrested June 5. Williams was also jailed in January and in February. Camacho was jailed in February.
“None of us want to be out here,” Camacho said. “Our lifestyle shouldn’t be illegal.”
Between May 23 and June 23, a total of 64 jailed individuals faced at least one camping-related charge, according to the records. Most of the people who were also booked on non-camping charges were alleged to possess drugs or drug paraphernalia. One woman was booked on charges of camping and falsely identifying herself to a police officer. A few were booked on more serious charges, including suspicion of driving under the influence or intent to sell drugs.
The analysis was based on jail booking data that the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office released to The Sacramento Bee in response to a Public Records Act request. The Bee examined all the booking charges for individuals jailed on at least one alleged camping violation between May 23 and June 23. The records show that 24 faced charges of camping, camping and trespassing, storing personal property in public, blocking a sidewalk, or some combination thereof.
Most of the unhoused people who are jailed do not face a camping charge and were not included in this analysis. Data released by the Sacramento County Department of Health Services shows that 832 people were identified as homeless during a jail medical screening. In June, medical personnel identified 794 individuals experiencing homelessness.
Prior reporting by The Bee found that 30% of jail bookings involve a homeless person. The director of the Sacramento County Department of Health Services, Timothy Lutz, said that homeless people become caught in a costly “cycle of recidivism.”
Many homeless people who are incarcerated, Lutz said, end up in jail on low-level charges, including minor alleged drug offenses like those reflected in this analysis of booking records. Living outside increases the chance that a person will interact with a law enforcement officer, which Lutz said increases the chance of arrest.
