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New Clearwater Laws Criminalize, Perpetuate Homelessness
WASHINGTON, DC. -- 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 Clearwater's intent to treat homelessness as a criminal justice problem.
The City of Clearwater has also taken measures to close public bathrooms that were previously available to homeless individuals in an effort to drive homeless people from these public areas. Jurisdictions in the U.S. have increasingly come under international scrutiny for such actions. On March 18, 2011, the U.N. Independent Expert on water and sanitation, the Independent Expert on extreme poverty, and the Special Rapporteur on housing issued a statement on the human right to water and sanitation noting: " The lack of availability of public restrooms has a serious impact on the enjoyment of the rights to water and sanitation for persons living on the street, who are consequently left with no other option than to urinate and defecate in the open. Increasingly they also face criminal charges for this. Governments must ensure that homeless people still have access to safe water and sanitation, including water and soap for basic hygiene. While a more long term solution which assists these people to find secure housing is necessary, in the interim countries have to put in place solutions that ensure access to water and sanitation in public spaces for all."
Criminalization ordinances such as these perpetuate homelessness, place unnecessary burdens on the criminal justice system and violate homeless individuals' civil and human rights. Individuals cited or arrested will develop criminal records, making it more difficult for them to access needed employment, housing, and benefits. Efforts to move homeless persons out of downtown areas also disrupt existing relationships with service providers, making it more difficult for homeless persons to get the assistance they need. Moreover, trying to solve homelessness through the criminal justice system is not only ineffective, but expensive as well. Cost studies in thirteen geographic areas demonstrate that the average cost of housing a homeless individual in jail is $87 per night, considerably more than the $31 and $28 average costs of housing a homeless individual in affordable and supportive housing and in emergency shelter, respectively.
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."
Clearwater's actions are also directly at odds with the approach adopted by Pinellas County in Opening Doors of Opportunity: A 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness in Pinellas County. Rather than criminalizing homelessness, the plan calls for work "to discourage enactment of laws or ordinances that criminalize homelessness and to encourage proactive approaches to addressing homelessness and to avoid unnecessary incarceration that hinders a person's ability to regain self-sufficiency."
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.
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