Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler addresses camping ban enforcement challenges

PORTLAND, Ore. ( KOIN ) – It’s no secret that the City of Portland’s controversial camping ban has had a rocky rollout .

The most recent version of the revised camping ban has hit major enforcement setbacks: First due to extreme heat, then a public refusal to jail violators by Multnomah County Sheriff Morrisey O’Donnell .

Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler said he wants “some bite to our enforcement of our local rules,” adding that has already met with the sheriff once and feels the disconnect between the city and county will “reach a resolution quickly.”

The ordinance to restrict illegal camping in public spaces was slated to go into effect on July 1 , but has yet to be fully enforced. Wheeler said he expects it to soon grow some teeth — though he maintains the ban is not about criminalizing homelessness.

“It’s important that we have that law enforcement mechanism there as a backstop for those who just simply refuse to play by the rules that the rest of us play by to protect our own health and safety and frankly, their health and safety,” Wheeler said.

As of Friday, Aug. 9, Wheeler’s office has reported seven citations and 11 referred sites as Portland police cite people who are camping illegally and bring those who refuse shelter back to the precinct until they have a court date assigned.

“As with other citations, PPB will issue a ticket with a court date, and forward that on to the DA and the courts,” a spokesperson for Wheeler’s office said. “If the cited individual does not appear at that court date, then a warrant could be issued for their arrest.”

In practice, Wheeler said law enforcement engagement is rare. He noted that, in the roughly 4,000 camps referred to the city last month, only seven citations were issued because most people accepted shelter.

But homeless advocate and Rose Haven Development Director Liz Starke said she has already seen how the camping ban has negatively impacted families they serve.

“People are more escalated, they’re upset, they’re losing their stuff,” Starke said. “And there were a lot of sweeps that happened in Old Town over the past few weeks.”

Meanwhile, she says social service providers are already “bursting at the seams.”

“Let’s not be angry at the people that are suffering,” Starke said. “Let’s be angry at the systems that put them there.”

Another service provider, Blanchet House, said in a statement that they have yet to see anyone they serve get cited, adding that “what we’re seeing on the ground and our impacts today are the same as they’ve been for a few years now – an extraordinary amount of suffering and desperation.”

Meanwhile, the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office declined to say whether the sheriff shifted her position since meeting with the mayor, but did share the following statement:

Both of our offices continue to work together to find solutions to achieve our desired outcomes. Working together includes meetings with various staff from both of our offices, including the Sheriff and Mayor. We’re happy to follow up with you when we have a concrete path forward.

Wheeler is expected to meet with Sheriff O’Donnell on Thursday.

Stay with KOIN 6 News as this story develops.

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