TROY — There’s a proposal in a Miami County city that has a lot of people talking. Many are upset because they feel it’s criminalizing homelessness.
News Center 7’s Cody Butler spoke with Troy’s police chief, who said a law like this is needed.
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Troy City Council is considering banning people from camping in public spaces like parks and sidewalks because the police chief said they’re experiencing many people sleeping on benches in the city.
Amber Moore, who opposes the public camping ban, said, “I just feel like we should do better. We’re better than what this ordinance represents.”
Moore is one of many people concerned about an ordinance being proposed in Troy.
“They keep saying that they’re not criminalizing homelessness because you can’t criminalize somebody’s status, but you’re criminalizing the actions of somebody who holds that status,” Moore said.
The law would require officers to offer services like shelters before they can take the camp down.
Shawn McKinney, Troy Police Chief, said this simply codifies what his officers are already doing.
“The goal is that they would accept those services. And a lot of times people do; we’re able to connect people with services, and they get through this rough patch,” McKinney said.
He also said it’s hard to track how often these situations come up, but found homelessness comes up in reports a couple of times a week.
“It comes down to a balance between keeping our public areas clean, safe and free from people camping or sleeping and offering them services,” McKinney said.
The city council will consider this proposal during its meeting next week.
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