Spokane police make 83 citations under new camping ban as more homeless accept treatment

SPOKANE, Wash. — One week after Spokane introduced a camping ban, police have given out 83 citations, and fewer than 10 people have gone to jail. The goal of these new rules is to clear the streets and help homeless individuals access treatment services.

The Safe and Accessible Public Spaces Emergency Ordinance, which passed last Monday, prohibits camping citywide and offers homeless individuals a choice between citation or accepting a ride to treatment and services.

Police say they cited 83 people in the six days after it passed. The chief said during our interview that those citations equate to arrests. He said fewer than 10 of them were taken to jail.

Spokane Police Chief Kevin Hall said the enforcement focuses on fair and compassionate policing, but officers will issue citations to those who resist directions.

“At that point, there’s going to be a citation,” Hall said.

The new approach appears to be yielding results that previous efforts could not achieve.

“With the previous ordinance, we had zero engagement interactions where treatment was taken. So far, in the past six days, we’ve had nine people receive engagement from the officers and then accept treatment with the officers facilitating that,” Hall said. “It’s the first time since I’ve been here. I’ve seen all of the actors, in the city, work together at recognize that there was an issue, and that needed to be corrected.”

A key component of the new enforcement strategy is the Cannon Street Navigation Center, where officers can bring individuals to connect them with treatment services.

“The people say, just tell me where you want me to go, and I’ll go there. Well, there was no place for them to go. Now, there’s a place for them to go,” Hall said.

However, Hall emphasized that the ordinance serves as another tool for officers rather than a complete solution to homelessness.

“If we leverage all of these different components that we now have in place, I think we are making, meaningful steps toward solving the underlying causes of the problem,” Hall said.

Moving forward, the implementation will rely on officer discretion.

“What I’ve seen so far and my confidence in my officers is, they’re going to use this judiciously, like I said, to try and get people into treatment and solve the underlying problems,” Hall said.