(The Center Square) – Several Spokane officials met on Thursday to mull over the city’s illegal camping laws and enforcement data amid recent confusion about what is actually on the books.
Spokane has several areas of its municipal code that touch on homelessness, with Proposition 1, “Sit & Lie,” and protecting waterways amongst the most prominent. While a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision finally granted police the ability to enforce Prop 1, the other laws never ceased to exist and were being enforced all along; however, not to the degree that some hope.
Nicolette Ocheltree, the city council’s Housing and Homelessness Initiatives manager, told the officials that arrests aren’t guaranteed; rather, individuals are usually cited and released.
“The penalty is a misdemeanor,” Ocheltree said when speaking on illegal camping. “If someone is subject to arrest on a warrant, or there’s probable cause for a crime, they can be jailed.”
However, if the individual doesn’t have outstanding warrants and the officer lacks probable cause for a more significant crime, the suspect is cited, released or given a warning, she said.
According to data that Ocheltree provided during the meeting, from January to July last year, SPD issued 87 citations for illegal camping and 135 for all of 2023. In comparison, SPD issued 78 citations for unlawful camping from January to July of this year.
However, that data pales in comparison to the number of calls for service due to unlawful camping. According to the data, SPD received 744 related calls from January to July last year, 1,709 for all of 2023. In stark contrast, the department received 2,415 related calls from January to July of this year, with an additional 165 calls so far this month.
The difference between January to July of 2023 and that same timeframe this year accounts for an approximately 224% increase in calls related to unlawful camping. When comparing this year’s citations to related calls, less than 4% of 2,415 calls resulted in a ticket.
“I’m sure it’s not a big shock to anybody,” Ocheltree said when showing the data, “but still, visually stunning to see.”
Out of the related calls last year, around 400 or so resulted in a warning; SPD referred approximately 900 to another department/agency, with roughly 100 ending in an enforcement action and another 100 with no issue found.
When breaking down this year’s related calls, around 1,500 have resulted in warnings, approximately 600 were referred to another department/agency, 100 ended in enforcement and another 100 or so were found to be without an issue; however, there are still four months left in 2024.
Much of the lack of enforcement is attributed to the fact that officers couldn’t fully-enforce Prop 1 and other provisions until the end of June. This is because of the lower court ruling that held cities can’t enforce the bans without enough shelter beds to accommodate their homeless populations, which SCOTUS overturned.
That data only pertains to unlawful camping, though Ocheltree also provided numbers on “Sit & Lie” citations. From January to July of last year, SPD issued 120 related citations, with 141 for all of 2023, according to the data.
From January to July of this year, SPD only issued 23 citations related to “Sit & Lie,” approximately 80% less than during that same timeframe in 2023. Additionally, SPD has only issued one so far in August, according to the data, with none listed for February, March or July.
However, SPD Spokesperson Julie Humphreys told The Center Square that officers issued 479 pedestrian interference tickets so far this year. That’s 374% more than the 101 pedestrian interference citations during that same time frame last year. She said that pedestrian interference is similar to “Sit & Lie” but is easier to cite with fewer stipulations attached.
Meanwhile, Spokane’s Community Court, which handles these cases and others related to theft, trespassing and other crimes, is also exasperated. Therapeutic Court Coordinator Sarah Ostile-Thompson told the others that the caseload has more than doubled from last year.
While not all are tied to unlawful camping and “Sit & Lie,” she said Community Court received 1,014 cases from January to July of this year, with an additional 144 this month with two weeks still left.
“We’re only halfway through the month, so at this rate, we’re probably going to approach 300 by September,” Ostile-Thompson said, “but close to 400 by the end of December.”
