It appears that San Diego police swept through some homeless areas just before the annual homeless count last week, and now homeless advocates say the police efforts may have skewed the results of the count. Voice of San Diego reports:
Police enforcement spiked in the downtown area most densely populated with homeless San Diegans in the days before the annual homeless census last Friday, spurring questions from advocates and even the group that oversees the count about how the increased enforcement may have affected the effort.
Data obtained by Voice of San Diego after a public records request reveals police arrested 62 people for two violations often associated with homelessness in two ZIP codes where many homeless San Diegans reside the week before the count – triple the number of arrests made in the previous two weeks combined.
If the latest sweeps followed past patterns, additional homeless San Diegans residing in those areas likely moved elsewhere at least temporarily to both accommodate and avoid police. Arrest data shows officers made no encroachment or illegal lodging arrests – two charges often associated with homeless camps – in the ZIP codes that include East Village and Sherman Heights between Jan. 11 and Jan. 15. They made several dozen arrests in the week that followed.
Despite denials from the SDPD and Mayor’s office, Lisa Halverstadt at the Voice writes:
… advocates and even the CEO of the Regional Task Force on the Homeless, the group that oversees the annual count, fear police activity may have negatively impacted the annual effort to track San Diego’s homeless population in two areas considered ground zero of San Diego’s homelessness crisis.
For the balance of the article, go here.
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Every year the city does it’s shenanigans. Remember last year? They didn’t count folks living in cars. Can’t wait to get a new mayor.