New approach to the homeless
Police precinct expansion focuses on helping downtown Phoenix’s homeless
Phoenix police have expanded the size and hours of their downtown precinct as part of a bid to better deal with the homeless population. Instead of relying primarily on arrests, officers are working to connect the homeless with social services.
The Phoenix Police Department in January expanded the size, geographic boundaries and hours of operation of its Downtown Operations Unit. Officials had one major goal: find better ways to deal with the homeless population.
A key focus area on the revitalization of downtown is public safety, and people often base their perceptions of safety on the homeless population, officials said.
Police officials said their efforts are paying off — they’ve seen a decline in the number of homeless people on the streets, and they’ve connected more to services.
The downtown Phoenix precinct has decreased the number of arrests by more than half in the past few months, said Jeff Alexander, police commander of the Transit and Downtown Operations Bureau.
Instead of booking the homeless into jail — on suspicion of offenses from trespassing to disorderly conduct — police are connecting them to Central Arizona Shelter Services, Arizona’s largest shelter provider.
“We’re not going to arrest our way out of the homeless problem,” Alexander said. “They can get out (of jail), and they still don’t have a place to live and they’re still going to go where they’re comfortable.”
Leaders at CASS said this new approach allows the organization to better serve the city’s homeless population.
“If they can get people off the street, that’s good for everybody,” said Mark Holleran,
CASS executive director. “I kid Jeff Alexander about this, but I’ve said, ‘I apologize, but I think I’ve turned some of your police officers into case managers.’ ”
Finding services
Police officials said the expanded relationship between officers and CASS has allowed police to make connecting homeless people with essential services their first response instead of arresting them.
“We’re giving those people an opportunity to have somebody come out to them and take them to the shelter, get connected to care in lieu of being taken to jail right away,” Alexander said.
While providing an alternative is the new norm, there are exceptions.
“That’s what we try to do, but it’s not a given that that’s what we do all the time. If the person needs to go to jail, that person goes to jail,” Alexander said.
Initial results indicate the new approach is working. As a comparison:
» On June 7, Alexander said his unit came in contact with 68 homeless people they could have arrested. More than half of them — 42 — were connected with services at CASS. Police arrested 26 of them.
» On Oct. 1, police came in contact with even fewer homeless people — only 11. Police connected three of them with CASS and arrested eight.
Holleran said the organization served less than 700 people a day in spring. In October, the number reached 900 a day.
Because of a lack of space, CASS opened a parking lot at the northwestern corner of 12th Avenue and Madison Street where hundreds of homeless people sleep.
“The east lot has been very effective for us. It doesn’t look great when you drive by there at night and see a lot of people sleeping outside,” Alexander said. “But there’s not a lot of rules. They can stay there, be comfortable and they’re outside.”
The philosophical change also has a financial impact. Phoenix pays $251.53 to book someone into a Maricopa County jail and $78.94 per day to house someone, Phoenix police Sgt. Tommy Thompson said.
Boundaries
The Downtown Operations Unit expanded its boundaries to better reach the areas where many homeless people gather.
The unit’s northern boundary was previously Fillmore Street. But Phoenix now considers McDowell Road the boundary, so the unit patrols the area including Interstate 10.
This was a significant change for the downtown unit because the precinct now includes Margaret T. Hance Park, a large Phoenix park where homeless people sometimes congregate.
Addressing the homeless issue surrounding the park is
TOM TINGLE/THE REPUBLIC necessary for downtown’s growth, said David Roderique, president and CEO of the Downtown Phoenix Partnership, a development-focused organization.
“Anytime you make an area safer, especially in terms of people’s perception of crime, that becomes a desirable attribute in terms of reasons to locate there,” he said.
The unit’s coverage area also expanded west, so now it includes CASS and the immediate areas where homeless people sometimes gather.
This change allowed the unit to increase their presence at the shelter. There are now at least two officers always assigned to CASS.
Hours and staff
The Downtown Operations Unit now patrols its newly expanded area 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Previously, officers from other precincts or units less familiar with the area patrolled downtown in the early-morning hours.
“Downtown is a different entity, and (police) need to have a relationship with the business owners and partners downtown,” Alexander said.
The department also added three squads to staff the area. Holleran said this increased presence has made Phoenix as a whole much more effective in dealing with the homeless.
“In a lot of other cities and towns in the United States, you won’t hear this, but we actually have a very good relationship with the Police Department,” he said.