Jackson drafts ordinance to crack down on homeless encampments in public places

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – A proposed rule developed by a Jackson legal team could help reduce the number of homeless encampments in public areas.

City Attorney Drew Martin told lawmakers this week that his office is working on an anti-camping ordinance in the capital, saying it would “mimic” legislation in place in Grants Pass, Oregon.

The announcement was made during a meeting of the House Select Committee on Capital Revitalization on Wednesday.

The measure would make it a misdemeanor to sleep on sidewalks, streets, alleys, doorways or in vehicles parked on public property or rights-of-way unless the property is zoned for camping or an exception is granted, Martin said.

He said the rule would give Jackson police a new tool to address at least some of the city’s homeless problems.

“There’s homelessness, there’s loitering, begging and squatting… Of course, there are no easy solutions to any of these problems, but there are some legal tools available,” he said. “This is not the end of the answer. This may be a legal answer, but there is also a humanitarian answer.”

Martin was one of several to speak before the committee. Members also heard from local law enforcement, as well as homeless advocates and community leaders.

He said the city is asking lawmakers to craft a similar ordinance that could be enforced by the Capitol Police and the Hinds County Sheriff’s Department, neither of which can enforce city code.

Wednesday’s meeting was the third time the committee has met. Members met earlier to discuss the future of water and disease control in Jackson.

Martin told the committee that the ordinance is modeled after one in Grants Pass, Oregon, that was recently upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.

“Before this decision… the general state of the law was that you (didn’t have) many tools to stop homeless people on the street unless you (could) also show that you had safe and suitable places where you can place them,” he said.

“The Supreme Court, for better or worse, said, ‘No, it’s not. You don’t have to have enough space to house people if you want to pass legislation that will allow you to get people off the streets in certain conditions.”

The Grants Pass ordinance prohibits people from camping on public property or parking overnight in city parks, according to court records. Primary violations may result in a fine, and multiple violations may result in imprisonment.

The rule has been challenged in federal court, with opponents saying it violates the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution, which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment.

The American Civil Liberties Union said the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the ordinance was unconstitutional and the case went to the Supreme Court, which overturned the Ninth Circuit’s decision in a 6-3 decision.

Martin said the high court’s decision was about a legal requirement, not a humanitarian element.

“(We) have to decide where to send people. Grants Pass and many cities in Oregon, Washington and California are setting up urban areas as essentially temporary tent camps,” he said. “They are very similar to the homeless encampments you see now, but they are limited to certain areas.”

“I think you can guess that they are probably in generally less populated areas… and there is debate as to what services should or should be provided to people in those situations… Do we provide water? Will we provide tents? he asked. “You don’t want to encourage people to come to these places… But you also don’t want people sitting there in the Mississippi heat without water and literally dying.”

The meeting lasted about three hours. Jackson Police Chief Joseph Wade, Capitol Police Chief Beau Luckey and Hinds County Sheriff Tyree Jones also briefed committee members, highlighting the challenges their departments face in dealing with vagrants.

(READ: Local Law Enforcement Ignores Jackson’s Homeless Problem)

Luckey said the most his officers can do now is ask vagrants to leave if they are trespassing on public property.

He mentioned the recent incident in Smith Park. Officers responded to the 2.4-acre property after receiving calls about a wanderer shouting profanities at people.

“The only thing we could do was tell him to pack his things and leave the park,” he said. “We saw him walking down Congress (Street), past the governor’s mansion and … south into the distance.”

Luckey said police can’t force a homeless person to go to a shelter if he doesn’t want to. He also said that shelters will not accept people if they are belligerent.

Some homeless people also don’t want to go to shelters because they don’t allow drug use.

“They would rather go to Shower Power and get everything they need and then sleep on the street,” he said. “They would rather have Stewpot feed them, but stay on the streets where they can control what they want to do.”

Rep. Jill Ford asked officers if they were aware of what she called a “homeless city” located behind the old Toys “R” Us store on East County Line Road.

Wade said he knew about the camp but wasn’t sure how big it was. He said it was a “perfect example” of why the capital attracts vagrants.

“They can panhandle and get money, and I see some have really nice bikes that people gave them, so now they have a form of transportation to get up and down I-55, County Line and Lakeland Drive.” , – He said. “They stay close to where the resources are.”

Wade, Luckey and Jones answered several questions, including why the capital attracts homeless people.

According to a report cited by Rep. Shanda Yates, there were about 780 unsheltered people in the state in 2023. Of these, 680 lived in Jackson.

Officers said these people are drawn to the capital in part because of all the resources available, from shelters and mental health facilities to more opportunities to beg.

“There is panhandling on Lakeland Drive and County Line Road. Because of the large population, it’s much more productive than going to the county and other places,” he said.

Ford said panhandlers along the county line often take turns standing at the intersection, staying in the shade near the South Farm Bureau and spending the night in nearby hotels.

Jones, a northeast Jackson resident, said he is aware of the problem.

“We had a guy there about two weeks ago. He was in a wheelchair and was at the intersection of Ridgewood Court and County Line Road, banging on the windows… I had to actually block traffic to get him back across the street,” he said. “It was not just about begging. He could have been hit by a car… and then we would have to deal with the accident.

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