HILLSDALE, Mich. – A city in West Michigan is debating criminalizing public camping due to a growing concern about the homeless community.
On Monday, the city of Hillsdale was scheduled to make the decision to declare homeless camps a misdemeanor offense. According to WILX, the decision is backed by the new policy Hillsdale police have been enforcing that prohibits people experiencing homelessness from occupying public property.
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Officials say that the fine will be a minimum of $100 for camping on any city-owned land within Hillsdale. The ordinance, which the city council will be considering in the near future, compliments the new Homelessness Task Force the mayor of Hillsdale, Adam Stockford, created due to alleged complaints about the homeless community in the area.
WILX reports that the ordinance is meant to address public safety concerns, as there are no homeless shelters in the area. According to the Homeless Shelter Directory, the closest shelter listed is in Coldwater, 17 miles away from Hillsdale.
“A lot of it has come from business owners, theft in stores, garbage left in the parks, a big one is needles,” stated Mayor Adam Stockford. “So instead of the police being able to come along and say, ‘this is public property, you need to move on,’ they could say, ‘this is public property, you need to move on, there are consequences if you don’t.’”
Stockford told WILX that the ordinance isn’t a solution to solve homelessness. He also mentions that the city doesn’t have enough resources to create a homeless shelter.
During the discussion on Monday, the Hillsdale City Council voted to send the ordinance to the Public Safety Committee and requested the charge will be lowered to a civil infraction rather than a misdemeanor.