Sacramento County has been aggressively working to clean up trash and other debris along the American River Parkway, but park rangers will now continue that work, without citing homeless campers.
The change in enforcement policy comes after the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in San Francisco ruled that arresting or citing a homeless person for illegal camping may be considered unconstitutional, Sacramento County spokeswoman Kim Nava said.
The case was filed by attorney’s on behalf of six homeless residents against the city of Boise, Idaho, over a city ordinance that banned sleeping in public spaces. The court ruled that citing or arresting a homeless person for sleeping outside is a violation of the 8th amendment, which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment.
The city of Boise is appealing the case and it could reach the Supreme Court of the United States.
Since January 2018, Sacramento County Park Rangers have issued more than 2,000 citations for illegal camping.
“When we learned of that, the rangers stopped citing illegal campers in the parkway,” Nava said.
While the practice of issuing citations to homeless for illegal camping will stop, rangers will continue to cite people for illegal dumping, drug possession, and other illegal offenses. Homeless right’s advocates, like Sacramento-based civil right’s Attorney Mark Merin, call the ruling a big win.
“Now, I think the attention is going to what kind of accommodations can we provide,” Merin said. “We need public housing, we need alternative forms of housing, and we need homeless to be able to do something for themselves.”
The ruling only impacts people who are homeless, not people who can afford housing and choose to camp illegally.
A spokesperson with Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert’s office said the office hasn’t had the time to review the ruling to make a decision on whether or not they’ll continue to prosecute those who have been arrested or cited.
Continue the conversation with Giacomo on Facebook.