Criminalizing Homelessness Under the Guise of Public Safety

By Allison Mazella.

 Phoenix Ordinance G-7264 went into effect on September 1, 2024, updating Phoenix City Code § 23-30 to prohibit camping “within 500 feet of any property boundary of a school, child care facility, shelter, or City park.” In a city where countless individuals already struggle to find a safe place to sleep, the new City Code provision essentially turns homelessness into a criminal offense, pushing an already vulnerable population further to the margins. 

Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego positively cites this update as a way to help get people off the streets, but the reality is that it criminalizes homeless existence in Phoenix, Arizona, forcing homeless individuals into more precarious situations rather than offering real solutions.  

A Crisis in the Valley  

Phoenix is facing a housing crisis, with over 9,000 individuals experiencing homelessness throughout the Valley. Economic challenges and the scarcity of affordable housing leaves too many people without a stable place to live. For those individuals living on the streets, the ability to find a safe place to sleep is already extremely limited. Taking into account the heat Phoenix has been experiencing, sleeping outside can turn into a death sentence. This ordinance narrows the options for sleep even further by banning camping within a wide radius of public institutions such as a park or shelter. 

Moreover, in a report from the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Phoenix Police Department was found to routinely use excessive force and target homeless individuals for simply existing in public spaces. According to the DOJ, Phoenix officers frequently cite homeless people for “trespassing” on private property when they are sleeping on a public sidewalk. This conduct was happening before the new camping prohibition came into effect and homeless people are now further at risk of constitutional rights violations.

The Problem with the Ordinance

Representatives from cities that have enacted similar policies have said that they are put in place in order to protect children and adults from being surrounded by encampments. However, these arguments often mask a deeper issue: the failure to address the root causes of homelessness. Some of those root causes include unemployment, domestic violence, and mental illness. By banning camping around most public places, Phoenix is essentially sweeping the problem under the rug, and hiding it from public view without offering any meaningful or compassionate solutions. Additionally, § 23-30 tends to treat homelessness as a public nuisance, rather than a humanitarian crisis. This “not in my backyard” take on homelessness will further stigmatize those who find themselves homeless.

This newly enacted law seems to directly target homeless people. People with stable housing rarely, if ever, sleep on the streets. §23-30 also targets the homeless community because of the financial penalty associated with violating the new ordinance. Under this section, camping is a Class 3 misdemeanor which can carry a fine of up to $100. To most homeless individuals, that fine is not just a financial burden, but an insurmountable hurdle. The law does allow for a diversion (substance abuse classes, for example) instead of a fine, but those classes also cost money (at least $130). These punishments reduce the likelihood that people will be able to save money or find stable housing, which continues the cycle of homelessness, citations, and being unable to save. Imposing these fines can have devastating effects, such as penalties for non-payment and warrants that may be imposed by the court for non-payment, leading to deeper financial instability.

Implications of the Camping Prohibition 

Effectively, this new law, authorized by a recent Supreme Court decision, criminalizes homeless existence in Phoenix. Individuals may find themselves cited and charged with a Class 3 misdemeanor because they lack stable housing. Adding salt to the wound, the updated code may include the imposition of an unfairly high fine that many housed Arizonans would struggle to pay. The potential for a $100 fine would be nearly impossible for a homeless person to pay. Even more tension between the homeless community and police will result from the enforcement of the camping ban as the community may fear police action under the law.  

The measure does little to help address homelessness in a meaningful way. Banning camping does not mean the people who camp now have housing. Instead of helping end homelessness, the new provision will result in quite the opposite. Homeless people, especially those who are disabled, will have less access to resources if they are not allowed to camp close enough to agencies designed to aid them. This displacement could have dire consequences for those who require regular access to health services, food banks, or shelters and do not have the means to pay for public transportation to get there.

Conclusion

Section 23-30 directly targets the homeless population under the guise of public safety. This recent change to the law in Phoenix allows police to continue citing homeless people for sleeping in or near a public zone even though there is nowhere else for them to go. Despite declines in unsheltered homelessness, there are simply not enough beds and shelters in Phoenix. We should not punish people so harshly and unfairly for something out of their control. The homeless community would better benefit from compassionate policies that don’t criminalize being unsheltered, but rather actually assist them in gaining access to resources to better their circumstances.