People sleeping outdoors in Kansas City, Kansas, will soon face new penalties under an ordinance passed by the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City Kansas Commission Thursday night.
The “Unsafe Camping” ordinance passed a vote of 6 to 2, in a meeting that was disrupted by attendees calling for more compassion for unhoused people.
One attendee said the ordinance would drive unhoused people further out “into the shadows.”
A previous version of the anti-camping ordinance would have imposed citations of up to $200 and jail stays of up to a month for people caught camping outside.
The revised ordinance requires law enforcement to give individuals 48 hours’ notice to evacuate the property, and new penalties of at least ten hours of public service and a referral to a service provider on their first offense.
On subsequent offenses, people can face penalties of a fine, jail time or both.
The Kansas City Kansas Police Department says that this policy helps set clear guidelines for officers to respond to cases in a consistent and dignified way.
“I am not for criminalizing the homeless — this is not,” said KCKPD Sgt. Angie Joyce. “This is creating a dignified way for all of our officers to be doing the same thing and treating the people with respect when they’re dealing with a complaint.”
Law enforcement officials raised safety concerns over public encampments in the area, saying they posed threats not only to those who lived in them but the surrounding community.
Their presentation included examples of specific camping sites around Wyandotte County that concerned police because of their unsanitary state or association with criminal activity.
Commissioners Andrew Davis and Melissa Bynum voted against the ordinance.
Davis expressed concerns over the lack of research to support public service hours as an effective penalty for unhoused people who might not be able to show up and complete those requirements.
Davis said the county lacks the resources needed to help people find more stable housing.
“I would like to see us invest staff time on finding solutions where we have data that can prove that it works, as opposed to something that may not yield any results,” said Davis.
Mayor Tyrone Garner said that the responsibility to find a solution to the housing problem cannot solely fall to the Unified Government, but to the local community, too. He discussed plans to create new facilities with wraparound services for unhoused people, but claimed parts of the community don’t want homeless shelters near their property.
“People are going to have to have compassion in their hearts if they’re serious about fixing this issue,” said Garner. “To say, ‘put this facility here, and let’s get these folks back on their feet and on a pathway so they can become contributing neighbors in our community.’”
Garner said that this ordinance is not a solution to the problem, but a first step to finding one.
