The Portland City Council voted Wednesday in favor of Mayor Ted Wheeler’s daytime camping ban. Questions remain, however, on what the enforcement of the camping ban will look like.
If Portland City Commissioners approve a daytime camping ban, it would take effect on July 1 prohibiting all camping between the hours of 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. The Portland Police Bureau would be tasked with managing enforcement.
“From my perspective, I think what we’re talking about with an ordinance like this is more about addressing the already existing community concerns using housing and other partners," said the president of the Portland Police Association, Aaron Schmautz. "When we get to the place where people are just absolutely unwilling to move from an area that they are not lawfully occupying, then we can kind of have other tools available."
Schmautz says PPB gets repeat callers all the time about the city's homelessness problem. KATU News asked Schmautz if the police bureau would have enough officers to enforce the proposed camping ban.
“I do not believe that what we’re asking our officers to do will raise or change the number of calls. The officers are getting calls about these different issues all the time now. We do not have enough police officers in Portland," he said.
Schmautz believes if the city follows its plan well, the department could see a decrease in calls related to homelessness as people get the services they need.
“What we do want to make sure is that we’re not violating people’s constitutional rights, that we’re not putting police officers in a position where they can’t be successful," Schmautz said.
The city says enforcement will be phased in over a period of time after the first opening of the temporary alternative shelter site in July. Violators will get up to two written warnings. The warnings must come at least 24 hours apart. More violations could land someone up to a $100 fine or jail time of no more than 30 days.
“Enforcement of this ordinance is intended to be a tool to connect people with appropriate resources while also addressing behavior that is damaging to our community at large," said Mayor Ted Wheeler at a City Council meeting on May 31.
City officials say the Street Services Coordination Center (SSCC) and Impact Reduction Program (IRP) will help provide outreach to Portland's unhoused community. There are 25 outreach workers, and they are currently hiring additional staff. The city is also working with hundreds of outreach workers they say will be available to help with outreach. The goal is for the city and Multnomah County to work together with public safety partners to let Portlanders know about the camping changes.
If outreach teams encounter someone who is not in compliance with the camping ordinance, the city will partner with public safety partners on the next steps. This will happen after the educational, phased-in period of the camping ordinance, the city said.
Wheeler is expected to meet with the city attorney's office, PPB, outreach teams, and the SSCC to review the camping ordinance, discuss how it will work, and hold training before the enforcement begins.
The city says the overall goal is to help connect people experiencing homelessness with services, not to punish anyone. The city added that it will continue to re-staff PPB, and they now need the Legislature to approve funding to expand State Academy training capacity.
“We don’t have a recruiting problem. We’re hiring quickly, but we do need more officers," Schmautz said.
Schmautz added that the city is about 800 officers away from what the Federal Bureau of Investigation says is proper staffing for a city of Portland's size. However, he believes if the city follows its plan, the department could see a decrease in calls related to homelessness as people get the services they need.