Miami Beach OKs arresting homeless people for sleeping outside if they decline shelter
Miami Beach will allow the arrest of homeless people for sleeping outside if they decline placement in a shelter, despite opponents saying a new law effectively makes it illegal to be homeless in the city.
The city already had a ban on outdoor sleeping on the books. But that ordinance required police to provide a warning before making an arrest, giving people an opportunity to relocate. The new ordinance passed Wednesday eliminates that warning provision.
It will take effect within the next 10 days.
“This is absolutely not about criminalizing the homeless,” said Commissioner Alex Fernandez. “This is about making the homeless community accept services ... If this helps us encourage them, then we have to do this.”
The vote was 4-3 for final passage of the revised camping ban, mirroring the results on first reading. Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber and Commissioners Fernandez, Kristen Rosen Gonzalez and Steven Meiner were in favor.
Officials who supported the move emphasized that people won’t be arrested unless a shelter bed is available.
“If you are willing to accept services, no arrest will take place,” Rosen Gonzalez said.
Rosen Gonzalez said the city was “trying to be as kind as we possibly can and find a solution for a population that lives by their own rules and completely disregards our laws.”
Commissioners Ricky Arriola, David Richardson and Laura Dominguez voted against the change.
Arriola noted that the city already has laws on the books to address criminal behavior and said a stricter ban on sleeping outdoors won’t help alleviate homelessness.
“Being homeless is not a crime,” Arriola said. “Creating a new category of crime, which is basically the category of being homeless, is not the solution.”
Arriola said the city should increase its supply of housing. Miami Beach has made scant progress in adding affordable units over the past decade, while housing costs have skyrocketed in the tourist hub.
READ MORE: Miami Beach gives initial approval to outdoor sleeping crackdown, despite objections
Public speakers during Wednesday’s meeting pointed to various reasons unhoused people might reject a shelter placement, including dangerous shelter conditions, restrictions on bringing personal belongings inside, and limits on how long people are allowed to stay.
They also noted that there are no shelter beds in Miami Beach so homeless people will be transported outside city limits. Miami Beach has more than 50 shelter beds set aside at shelters in the city of Miami.
“This ordinance is cruel, racist and harmful,” said Kat Duesterhaus, a member of the Miami Coalition to Advance Racial Equity. “Shelters do not end homelessness. Only permanent, supportive housing will end homelessness.”
Tracy Slavens, an attorney who serves on the board of the Lotus House women’s shelter, said arresting people for sleeping on the street “creates problems they can never overcome.”
Similar ordinance was upheld in Orlando
The change, which was first floated in July, is modeled after an Orlando ordinance that bans sleeping outdoors on public property in most cases and was upheld in 2000 by the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit.
The Orlando and Miami Beach ordinances say if someone is sleeping outdoors on public or private residential property and volunteers that they have no home or other permanent shelter, officers must give them a chance to enter a shelter before making an arrest.
Miami Beach had an unsheltered homeless population of 152 in an overnight count in August by the Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust, down from 235 in January and 167 last August.
The city has seen a reduction in crime rates in recent years, data show. But residents have raised concerns about an increased “perception” of crime and visibility of unhoused people, particularly in South Beach. Late last year, the city beefed up enforcement by park rangers in Collins Park and other areas where homeless people tend to congregate, resulting in dozens of arrests and trespass warnings.
READ MORE: ‘We can’t coexist anymore’: Miami Beach weighs outdoor sleeping crackdown for homeless
City officials supporting the ordinance have emphasized the city’s ongoing efforts to support the homeless population, including $7.6 million in the budget for services and enforcement.
The city is investing $2 million to fund 45 permanent housing units and 10 shelter beds for the Miami Beach homeless population at locations outside the city, and has called for a special election in November 2024 to impose a 1% tax on food and beverage sales to fund the county Homeless Trust and domestic violence centers.
But Gelber, the mayor, said the city needs to do more to prevent the proliferation of encampments in Miami Beach.
“We can’t allow that to happen in public spaces,” he said. “We want you to have services. We want to give you shelter. But camping here is a problem.”
This story was originally published October 18, 2023 at 5:26 PM.
