A LOT has happened since the previous post, two down. But, this morning, I met with the "new" Area Coordinator/Commander for the police department, at a local cafe, where we talked for a bit over an hour.
As I recounted below, a beat officer had encouraged me to contact his superior within the dept. toward initiating a discussion of "the homeless" and the police enforcing of the various laws against us, as well as possibly toward identifying some better ways to go. So I'd acted on his suggestion and sent an email. That was months and months ago. No one had even responded to that email.
A couple of months went by and, one day, I was cleaning up my email and ran across the sent item. At that moment it just peeved me that I hadn't even been responded with so much as make-nice, boilerplate acknowledgment of simply having received my email. So I checked the local city/police website and found an email address for a Community Affairs officer and forwarded the original email to that address with a short note explaining that I'd been ignored and asking who might be an appropriate contact.
I then received a fairly prompt response, finally acknowledging me and telling me that there had been some departmental reorganization and that they were also forwarding my email to another person. Shortly, I then received a cordial email from the new Area Coordinator/Commander inviting to meet with me. We exchanged a couple more to establish a context (she wanted to know if I represented any group(s) beyond just myself) and some topic, then scheduled a time/place - a local cafe'.
She arrived a bit late this morn, while I'd gotten there early and had grabbed a table. I was outside looking around when I spotted her driving up in an unmarked police car, looking a bit grim, really. But I greeted her, and she joined me at the table within, but declined to grab a coffeee, so we sat down and I got right to the point.
I was pleased to find her attentive, interested and responsive. I explained my own position, my priority concerns and hopes. She did pose some of the more difficult, frank questions as well, about the issues raised, but made a point of expressing her own "compassionate" nature and seeking what preferred options may be considered and/or available.
Our main items of concern:
• As it is now, local codes mostly criminalize simply being homeless, when it comes to unavoidable pragmatics, such as where one can be or, more so, just sleep. My own take is that the city needs to designate specific places where this is legally allowed, in some form. Both those "camping" and those fortunate enough to have vehicles.
• "The homeless" is too broad, and too unfortunately stigmatizing of a term. There is more variety of types of people unfortunately in that status and plight. I urged her and her officers to realize this, and that the awareness might influence their conduct and treatment towards individuals. I explained to her what a personal offense it can be, even practically, to be "enforced" against and disrespected, in reality. Not to mention burdened with "fines" and all the more problems to have to overcome to get out of the jam.
• I was surprised to find that she seemed incompletely informed about actual local code applica\ble, such as that specifying the "obstructing sidewalk" citations, which I was subjected to once. She showed me a reference card she carries which reads as though code prohibits sitting/lieing on sidewalks more generally than I've found the full, actual code to do. Similarly, we discussed the irony of code disallowing habitation in vehicles, including those only temporarily or provisionally adapted to that use.
The obvious solution is to designate some areas allowing for both the "camping" and habitable vehicle overnight parking. Just where this might be done is somewhat unclear, although some options came to mind. But her own take on this was that it's mainly a matter of "cost" to do so. And some anticipation of problem people.
But I maintained that no matter what does or doesn't take place, these problems exist anyway... but without such option for the more reasonable, responsible people to be okay and, at best, progress. She got the point.
