Tuesday was the one-year anniversary of a sweeping anti-crime bill that included outlawing street camping. Opponents of the Safer Kentucky Act say it’s making life for homeless persons more difficult. According to the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy, as of July 2, there’ve been 425 unlawful camping charges in 30 Kentucky counties. Jeff Herron is the City of Lexington’s homelessness prevention manager.
“They're aware of the bill, and it makes them concerned. So I think some people are trying to find more concealed places. Are being a little bit more careful about where they might sleep, outdoors, making it more difficult for us to find them.”
Herron said that make it harder for his office to inform unsheltered and homeless people of the services the city and its partners can provide. However, he said his office has stepped up communications with Lexington police, which has helped all parties.
“I think that's been really successful and allowing us to steer things towards service interventions over citations. If you look at the number of citations that have been issued for unlawful camping within Fayette County, they've dramatically decreased.”
Herron said the number of unlawful camping citations issued per month has dropped from about 15 the first two months to just one in June. He said that's a testament to officers being out in the community and giving homeless and unsheltered people information.
