Denver should be able to clear out homeless camps.

Chris Detwiler packs up at an encampment along North Logan Street and East 8th Street in Denver on September 25, 2023. City of Denver staff and outreach workers helped people living in the large encampment pack up and move to hotels. Clean the room before removing remaining tents from the area. (Photo by Helen H. Richardson/Denver Post)

Homeless camps are dangerous, unhealthy and heartless spaces. Cities and counties have the ability to quickly close public places to address health and safety threats to both the unhoused individuals camping there and the communities affected. In need of.

The U.S. Supreme Court will soon consider and rule on a pivotal case that will likely determine the legality of Denver’s own anti-camping ordinance and future homeless encampment sweeps.

City of Grants Pass v. Johnson is a lawsuit filed on behalf of homeless residents in Grants Pass, Oregon, which, like Denver, has an ordinance restricting camping in city parks and other public places. .

Grants Pass has the ability to enforce these ordinances, which carry tickets and possible jail time. The legal question posed is whether enforcement of generally applicable laws regulating camping on public lands constitutes cruel and unusual punishment prohibited by the Eighth Amendment.

This is a case that the Supreme Court should have taken up. Because the Ninth Circuit went too far in creating a patchwork of unenforceable legal standards and blocking Grants Pass from enforcing these laws.

The Denver metropolitan area is suffering from one of the nation’s worst homelessness spikes. The Colorado Homeless Coalition estimates that the number of homeless people will increase by a whopping 39% from 2022 to 2023, which is the fourth largest increase in the country. The number of unsheltered homeless people, or people camping outdoors without shelter at any time of the day or night, increased by 50% compared to the previous year alone.

At the same time, we have committed unprecedented amounts of public funds to tackling homelessness. Colorado has spent nearly $2 billion on homelessness efforts over the past three years, mostly concentrated in the Denver metropolitan area, and a 2023 Common Sense Institute report found that for every person experiencing homelessness, Colorado has spent nearly $2 billion on homelessness. It is estimated to cost between $60,000 and $60,000.

Denver, like other cities across the country, faces a difficult and complex situation in addressing this issue, as evidenced by the recent clearing of a large homeless encampment at 8th Avenue and Navajo Street. I am. After Denver city officials closed the campground for public health and safety reasons, Advocates for Housekeys Action Network Denver argued that this was essentially cruel and unusual punishment. It was criticized by some homeless advocates.

Advocates completely ignored complaints from neighbors about human waste, drug use, violence, and even violations of private property and rights of way.

We commend Mayor Mike Johnston and his administration for working tirelessly to resolve this humanitarian tragedy and find shelter in either city-run or contracted facilities while navigating an unprecedented migrant crisis. worth it.

The closure of this particular camp was the only time in the past six months that the city was unable to find suitable shelter for the people who lived there. More than 1,500 unhoused people have moved indoors since Johnston took office, according to his All in Mile High initiative.

Don’t get me wrong. Anti-camping ordinances are not a solution to homelessness in and of themselves, but they are a necessary tool to help get people off the streets and connect them to important resources. Camping ordinances also protect the public.

After Austin, Texas lifted its camping ban in 2019, the number of unsheltered homeless people increased by 45% and the shelter population decreased by 20% by the following year, according to data from Point in Time. Two years later, voters overwhelmingly reinstated the ban.

The City of Denver should be able to set its own policies and should not be prohibited from enforcing reasonable restrictions in exceptional cases where sleeping indoors is not an option. Yes, ideally there would be housing for all displaced people, but the data also shows that not everyone wants to be evacuated. A significant portion of the unsheltered population is unwilling to accept services or locations in housing or officially licensed and managed campgrounds. Public camping regulations serve as an important deterrent that promotes public safety.

An amicus brief filed with the Supreme Court by California Governor Gavin Newsom arguing for reversal of the Ninth Circuit’s decision aptly states: It is a threat to public health and safety. ”

According to a Common Sense Institute report, Denver’s unhoused city death toll exceeds other cities with similar problems, with drug overdose being the leading cause of death (56% of deaths) It becomes. The Denver Fire Department announced that there have been 130 fires related to homeless encampments through October 2023.

Crime rates are also high within these encampments.

Business owners and residents must deal with trash, human waste, used needles, public drug use, property damage, theft, and other criminal activity in and around these campgrounds.

Opponents also argue that Denver’s camping ban, similar to Grants Pass, only punishes the homeless by allowing ticketing and even jail time for illegally camping outdoors. complains. However, the record reflects reports that these enforcement tools are primarily a deterrent and are used only in the most extreme circumstances.

Axios recently cited Denver police data that says 55 tickets have been issued since the law took effect in 2012, but only 12 have resulted in jail time. If authorities cannot provide shelter to people who have nowhere else to go, authorities should not issue tickets on this basis alone.