The Miami Beach City Commission has voted to allow police to arrest homeless people who are found sleeping outdoors and refuse to go to a shelter, but critics say the new ordinance is "counterproductive" and will only exacerbate the problem.
The Florida Rights Restoration Coalition issued a statement Thursday opposing the new ordinance.
"We are saddened to hear about the ordinance passed in Miami Beach to arrest homeless people who refuse shelter," the statement said. "Housing is one of the most critical issues facing returning citizens. Formerly incarcerated people are nearly ten times more likely to experience homelessness than the general public. It is counterproductive
to now re-criminalize people for being homeless. This only exacerbates the problem and will place additional burdens on taxpayers. Rather than criminalizing this population, Miami Beach should double down on reducing barriers to housing. This would make more sense, be more humane, and make our communities safer."
The city previously had a ban on outdoor sleeping, but that ordinance required police to issue a warning before making an arrest.
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The new ordinance, which passed in a 4-3 vote Wednesday night, eliminates the requirement for a warning.
Commissioners first introduced the item in September and it faced many objections.
"Arresting folks for being homeless is not the solution," said Miami Beach Commissioner Ricky Arriola. "Creating a new category of crime, which is basically the category of being homeless, is not the solution."
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But supporters of the ordinance say it provides a solution to the city's homeless crisis.
"The worst rating that our residents give us, and I think it was two surveys in a row, was on the homeless issue," said Miami Beach Commissioner Steven Meiner. "On how we deal with the homeless individuals that people are seeing and think impacts negatively their quality of life. It's the thing they criticize us the most for and I think it's a step in the right direction to address that."
According to City Code Sec. 70-45 the policy of the City of Miami Beach is that public property, including, but not limited to, public sidewalks, streets, alleyways, parks, beaches, beach access areas, walkways, pathways, garages, buildings, promenades, and pedestrian maIls should be readily accessible and available for use by residents, visitors and the public at large for their safe enjoyment. However, the use of public areas by individuals for camping interferes with the rights of residents, visitors, and the public to freely use public spaces for the purpose for which they were intended.
The legislation takes effect within the next 10 days.
