Ban Street Camping for Safer Communities
Unregulated homeless encampments are a danger to the public and the homeless.
Homeless individuals are hundreds of times more likely to commit crimes like robbery or arson than the average person, and dozens of times as likely to be victims of crime themselves.
Homeless people are also more likely than the general population to commit crimes.
THE SOLUTION
Prohibiting unauthorized street camping keeps communities safer and ensures that vulnerable people in crisis are not living in dangerous situations.
WHY IT MATTERS
Nearly two-thirds of voters say homeless individuals should not be allowed to camp on sidewalks or in city parks.
Most voters (75%) agree it is more compassionate to move homeless people into local shelters rather than leaving them to the dangers of life on the streets.
HOW IT HAS WORKED
According to data from the Kentucky Administrative Office of the Courts, in the first
six months of enforcement, since the statewide camping ban took effect last summer,
out of 1700 total unsheltered Kentuckians, only 19 individuals have received a misdemeanor-level charge. Nearly all those charged had the opportunity to receive a suspended sentence in exchange for participating in rehabilitation programs.
THE BOTTOM LINE:
There is nothing compassionate about leaving people in crisis on the streets in sprawling, dangerous encampments. Regulating street camping creates modest pressure through engagement with law enforcement to move people off the streets and into shelter, where they otherwise might choose not to.
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