Las Vegas Ban Carries $1,000 Fine for Being Homeless

camping ban

Though many cities have tried and failed before, it seems Vegas officials just can’t resist a gamble. In a 5-2 vote, they’ve passed an ordinance making it illegal to sleep or camp in public places anywhere in the city.

Those who violate the ordinance will face misdemeanor charges that come with up to a $1,000 fine or six months in jail. Why? For filling a basic human need – something we all couldn’t do if we tried – sleeping.

While Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman spins this ban as a “benefit to the homeless population“, it begs the questions:

How is fining someone who has next to nothing $1,000 for trying to sleep a benefit? Who really benefits from a homeless person being sent to jail? Certainly not the person looking for a place to sleep as they now have a criminal record and another hurdle to escape homelessness.

Subtle Nuances Set This Ban Apart

Of course, many other states have already tried to criminalize homelessness in this sneaky and compassionless way. However, they haven’t had a very warm reception in the courts.

Las Vegas hopes to get around this little snag by adding a slight addendum to their ban. It will only be enforceable when beds are available at established homeless shelters in the area.

In theory, of course.

‘It’s For Their Own Good’

Of course, politicians endorsing this legislation have presented it as the best thing to do for everyone involved. The business community won’t have people sleeping in front of their stores at night. The housed public won’t have to look at unsightly tents in residential neighborhoods. And the homeless population will be compelled to seek help.

Or at least, compelled to decide whether the risk of becoming a criminal outweighs the factors keeping them out of the shelters in the first place.

A Logistical Nightmare on Both Sides

What sets the Las Vegas ban apart from others simultaneously makes the whole thing a logistical nightmare.

Not only will police be expected to know the current vacancy status of every area shelter, but homeless people will, too. Of course, police most likely have access to an expedited system of communications for such a purpose. On the other hand, homeless people will need to manually check every shelter, every night. After all, you have to be sure there are no beds available anywhere before you camp for the night. If not, you risk a misdemeanor.

Not only would going from place to place every single night be exhausting and incredibly time consuming, it may not even be physically possible. Depending on the schedule of the shelters, the rules for admission, and the person’s own schedule, the system may be rigged to fail.

If the shelter with the open bed requires you to be in by 5pm, but you don’t get off work until 6, what are you going to do? Become a criminal, I guess.

Even for police, who, in a perfect world, would have access to up to date information on all the shelters’ vacancy status at the touch of a button, this system can cause no end of headaches.

If there’s one open bed at a nearby shelter and you find two people sleeping in a park, do you arrest them both, or just one? Which one? If there’s an open slot at a women-only shelter, are men sleeping outside still committing a crime? If a shelter fills up while you’re arresting someone, are they off the hook? Or do you arrest them anyway for failure to secure a bed while it was available, even though it’s not anymore?

All the Reasons People Don’t Go to Shelters Haven’t Disappeared

People who choose not to go to homeless shelters have their reasons. In most cases, it’s not because they prefer sleeping on cold, hard concrete over a warm bed.

Homeless shelters have many barriers to entry that this proposed band completely ignores:

  • a fear of violence, theft, or substance abuse within the shelter
  • an unwillingness to be separated from a partner or pet
  • the inability to abide by the rules of any given shelter regarding when you have to come in, when you can leave, which religious services you need to participate in, or anything else

Forcing people into shelters that don’t meet their needs under threat of arrest is the wrong approach. A better first step would be to find out why some people are sleeping outside instead of in shelters when beds are available. Then do what’s necessary to address those issues. That would be a win-win.

This brings me to my final point: the reality is that homeless people who choose not to make use of shelters even when they’re available are in the minority. The bigger issue is that there is not enough shelter to meet the demand.

Shelters Are Not Sitting Empty

Aside from the up to $1,000 fine or 6 months in jail a homeless person faces when violating the ban, it also paints a picture that shelter beds are sitting empty and people who could use them opt to sleep outside and inconvenience local business owners just for fun. Downtown Las Vegas business owners have been a huge driving force behind this ban.

The reality is shelters are full to capacity most every night. So, this bill will do nothing to help the problem. It will criminalize the homeless people subjected to it. And it will further deteriorate an already hostile relationship between the housed and the homeless within Las Vegas.

Anyone who sees this ban as a good way to force homeless people into “unused” shelter beds is living in a fantasy world.

The only thing this camping ban accomplishes is empowering Las Vegas business owners to call the police on homeless people more than they already do. That, and opening the door to further harassment down the line.

In a statement, the Downtown Vegas Alliance called the ban a, “necessary first step to help protect those who have made significant investment in the area.”

Yikes.

I can only imagine what the second step might be.


Kayla Robbins

Kayla Robbins

  

Kayla Robbins is a freelance writer who works with big-hearted brands and businesses. When she's not working, she enjoys knitting socks, rolling d20s, and binging episodes of The Great British Bake Off.

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