Sheriff defends arrests at homeless camps, advocate says there has to be a better way

Greene County Sheriff Jim Arnott said, to him, the situation is simple.

He said his agency was contacted by property owners who were concerned about homeless people camping on their land, so deputies went out Wednesday to five locations to clear the properties and ended up arresting 11 people on suspicion of trespassing, a misdemeanor offense.

"I don’t care if you’re homeless or you have 10 homes, if you are committing a crime on somebody else’s property and they call law enforcement or law enforcement shows up, we’re going to deal with it," Arnott said. "And that’s just, that’s the bottom line."

Pastor Christie Love with the Connecting Grounds, one of the area's most vocal advocates for homeless people, sees things differently.

Love said she agrees private property owners should not have to let folks live on their land. But she wished in Wednesday's situation the individuals would have been given 24 hours to vacate the properties and been able to move on without arrests and possible criminal charges being pursued against them.

"I don't think the answer is criminalizing those seeking shelter and safety," Love said.

Love said Wednesday's situation shines a light on the need for more resources in Springfield, like 365-night-a-year shelters, transitional housing and better low-income housing opportunities.

Here is a look at some of the issues raised by homeless advocates about the sheriff's office's actions this week, along with perspective from Arnott.

Should 24 hours notice have been given?

The Springfield Police Department has a policy of giving people living in homeless camps 24 hours notice to vacate the property before police take enforcement actions, if the property owner is amenable. Police also notify Community Partnership of the Ozarks' One Door staff, which will then notify other homeless advocate agencies so they can provide assistance to the campers. The Greene County Sheriff's Office does not follow a similar policy.

Love and other advocates support giving people at least 24 hours notice so they can gather their belongings and avoid having to go to jail.

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Arnott said a 24-hour notice policy does not make sense to him as he feels it is important to enforce state law, regardless of the circumstances.

"If you called me and said 'Somebody’s in my backyard, I told them to leave and they’re not leaving,' would I say ‘Hey, why don’t you give them 24 hours notice and call me back?’” Arnott said.

Why use old pictures in Facebook post?

When the sheriff's office made a Facebook post about Wednesday's arrests, they included photos of a homeless camp. In addition to trash, shopping carts and piles of clothes, the pictures also displayed green leaves on trees and thick green grass.

Arnott acknowledged Friday the pictures that accompanied the Facebook post were not taken on Wednesday but instead at a homeless camp busted last year. He likened using old photos on the Facebook post to a news agency using file photos to accompany articles.

Love said she visited some of the locations where deputies went this week and there was much less trash than the homeless camp shown in the photos. She wondered if the sheriff's office used the old photos in attempt to make Wednesday's camps seem worse than they were.

"I think there’s an issue when we try to portray a narrative that is worse than things actually are," Love said.

Arnott said there was also trash left behind at Wednesday's sites, in addition to items that had been stolen from area businesses.

What happened to people after arrests?

The individuals arrested Wednesday who did not have any other outstanding criminal matters were released from jail on Thursday as the sheriff's office prepares to submit cases to prosecutors for consideration of possible charges.

Love said she spoke with one of those men who was arrested in pajama pants and a tank top as temperatures were in the 60s on Wednesday and then released from jail on Thursday when temperatures were below freezing with snow on the ground.

The sheriff's office's Facebook post said all the individuals would be given a taxi voucher upon release, but Love said the man told her he had to "raise heck" to get the voucher and then once he was dropped off in town the traditional places for homeless resources were closed for the day.

Love said a Connecting Grounds outreach team was able to help the man get clothing, food and ride to a shelter.

Arnott said everyone released from the jail is given a list of resources for assistance with food and shelter, but some do not make use of the list.

"You can’t like pin it to their chest," Arnott said. "You give it to them and what they do with it is kind of up to them."

How will House Bill 1606 impact police interactions with homeless?

House Bill 1606 is a new law that went into effect this month that makes it illegal for homeless people to sleep on state-owned land. Advocates argue it essentially criminalizes homelessness in places without adequate shelters.

The law also allows the attorney general to sue local governments that don't enforce the ban, as well as revoke state funding for homelessness services sent to those localities.

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Love said she is concerned the law will lead to more arrests of homeless people, and she said potentially losing funding for homeless services would be bad for the community.

"This is a law that many, many, many homeless advocates really have a lot of concerns of the implications of it," Love said.

Arnott said Friday he was not familiar with the specifics of House Bill 1606 and it was not a factor in his department's actions on Wednesday, which involved private property.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Greene County sheriff defends 11 arrests at homeless camps