New Clearwater Laws Criminalize Homelessness

Measures Threaten Civil Rights and Perpetuate, Rather Than Solve, Homelessness

Despite a severe lack of affordable housing and emergency shelter, the City of Clearwater, Florida has taken dramatic measures to criminalize necessary, life-sustaining activities  such as sitting, lying down, and sleeping that homeless individuals often have no choice but to perform in public spaces. These measures, which seem designed to move homeless individuals out of the city, do nothing to address the root causes of homelessness, and instead perpetuate it.

In July and August, the Clearwater City Council adopted a number of ordinances targeting homeless individuals. These include draconian new prohibitions on sitting or lying down on public sidewalks, boardwalks, piers, docks, and entryways to public buildings in certain downtown and tourist areas and on lodging outdoors. Ordinance Nos. 8347-12, 8348-12. These ordinances vest considerable discretion in law enforcement officers, raising the risk that these will be used to unfairly target homeless individuals. For instance, the lodging ordinance is drafted broadly so that those who use blankets or sleeping bags for sleeping, have too many personal belongings with them, or tell a law enforcement officer that they have no other place to live are at risk of citation or arrest. Further, the City Council amended several ordinances so that those who violate the sit/lie and lodging ordinances, as well as prohibitions on soliciting donations from drivers, and camping, bathing, or possessing alcohol in parks, are now subject to fines of up to $500 and/or imprisonment of up to 60 days for each violation. Ordinance Nos. 8344-12, 8340-12, 8345-12. The imposition of such severe penalties for relatively minor offenses only exacerbates the difficulties faced by homeless individuals and demonstrates Clearwaters intent to treat homelessness as a criminal justice problem.

The approach of criminalizing acts of living by unsheltered homeless individuals has been criticized by the federal government. As explained by the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness in Searching Out Solutions: Constructive Alternatives to the Criminalization of Homelessness, such ordinances, which are often adopted to broadcast a zero-tolerance approach to street homelessness or reduce the visibility of homelessness, actually work to further marginalize men and women who are experiencing homelessness, fuel inflammatory attitudes, and may even unduly restrict constitutionally protected liberties. Instead, the Interagency Council recommends approaches that strike at the core factors contributing to homelessness.

The National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty, Southern Legal Counsel, and the National Coalition for the Homeless urge the City of Clearwater to reconsider these measures.

To read the full press release, issued today by the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty and its partners, click here.