 Briefing Room |
 Homeless Gateway |
 Community Support Division |
INTRODUCTION
The Fort Lauderdale Police Department recognizes that the plight of the homeless is one of the nation's most visible social problems, generating widespread calls for governmental intervention. It is also recognized that law enforcement faces the difficult challenge of meeting the expectations and often conflicting demands of the political, business and community leaders, advocates for the homeless, social service providers and the homeless population. It is clear that law enforcement agencies must provide for the safety and integrity of the residential and business communities while protecting the rights, dignity and property of the homeless population. The Fort Lauderdale Police Department Model for police response to homelessness is based on the understanding that the homeless are not "problem people" but rather "people with problems".
This essay is designed to provide an overview of the City of Fort Lauderdale and its problem-solving approach to the issue of homelessness.
CITY OF FORT LAUDERDALE, BROWARD COUNTY, FLORIDA
Fort Lauderdale, a 33 square mile coastal community with approximately 150,000 residents is the largest city in Broward County. Fort Lauderdale earns the title of "The Venice of America" for its 165 miles of navigable waterways, 30,000 registered boats and seven miles of beautiful beaches. There are over 6 million annual visitors in the area making Fort Lauderdale an international tourist mecca.
Broward County, with almost 1.5 million residents, is the second most populated county in Florida. It is situated just north of Florida's most populated county Miami-Dade, and just south of Palm Beach County, the fourth most populous county in Florida. This geography puts Broward County in the middle of the most populated area of one of the most heavily populated states in the country.
The Department policy emphatically states, "Homelessness is not a crime"! Fort Lauderdale's outstanding quality of life results from an unsurpassed combination of cultural, recreational, and educational amenities that have attracted a highly trained, well-educated, diverse work force. The world famous Fort Lauderdale Beach, the downtown Riverwalk, the Center for the Performing Arts and the Museum of Art, the Swimming Hall of Fame, Las Olas Boulevard, and the City's diverse population all contribute to the image of a desirable cosmopolitan City.
Residents are very proud of their city and are quite vigilant and determined in maintaining the high quality of life that is available in Fort Lauderdale. Criminal activity including crimes of violence, property crimes, gang activity, prostitution and especially the homeless are quick to gain the attention of city political, neighborhood and business leaders.
FORT LAUDERDALE POLICE DEPARTMENT
The Fort Lauderdale Police Department is a full service municipal police department of 500 sworn police officers and 250 support personnel. It attained accreditation recognition from the Commission for Florida Law Enforcement Accreditation in 1998. With a 99/00 FY operating budget of $58,502,709, the Department averages over 600,000 incoming calls to the Communications Center and dispatches approximately 182,000 of those calls. The Police Department operates the only municipal jail in the State of Florida. The 115-bed facility is staffed by certified detention officers. It allows for the timely processing of arrests and detention for those who violate local ordinances.
HOMELESS POPULATION
Fort Lauderdale, the largest municipality in Broward County, is the location of many social services agencies. Many of the homeless come to Fort Lauderdale to take advantage of those social services. The homeless present a special challenge to law enforcement in that this visible population generates many complaints and demands for police action.
In an effort to break the "cycle of homelessness," personnel at the City Jail are now attempting to identify those who are homeless during the intake processing stage. How many homeless are there in the Greater Fort Lauderdale community? The Broward Coalition for the Homeless, Inc. conducts an annual survey of the homeless population. The most recent survey, completed in April 2000, indicates that there are at least 5,000 men, woman and children living on the streets of Broward County on any given day.
TRADITIONAL POLICE STRATEGY - STRICT ENFORCEMENT
One of the traditional police strategies to respond to the homeless has been the strict enforcement of local laws and rules.
In reality, strict enforcement is the only strategy in most locales to deal with the homeless.
The Fort Lauderdale Police Department was no different. One example of such strict enforcement was referred to as "Bum Sweeps". Police officers were brought in on an overtime status during the early morning hours to "sweep" the homeless away from the beaches, city parks and the downtown. Any violations of a Park Rule, trespassing or an alcohol violation, were met with strict enforcement and usually an arrest.
However, it became clear that a strict enforcement strategy was not effective and did not provide long-term resolutions to problems.
Strict enforcement and arrests became a short-term resolution to the immediate symptom of the growing social problem of homelessness. The residential and business community demanded immediate and forceful police action believing that the problem was resolved with the arrest. In reality, the homeless would spend a day or two in jail before being discharged back into the community with a "time served" sentence and the cycle would start again.
FROM ADVERSARIAL RELATIONSHIPS TO PARTNERSHIPS
Naturally, this strict enforcement approach created an adversarial relationship between the police and the advocates for the homeless, the social service providers and the homeless population. Complaints of police harassment of the homeless were common. Advocates of the homeless were contemplating civil action in an attempt to fight what was described as the criminalization of the homeless. These acrimonious conditions, as well as recent court decisions regarding police response to the homeless, were the impetus for the seeds of positive working relationships and partnerships with the homeless community.
The Broward Coalition for the Homeless approached the Fort Lauderdale Police Department and offered assistance and training for police officers in regard to interaction with the homeless. This was the initial spark that changed the way we respond to the homelessness issue.
HOMELESSNESS 101 TRAINING
The Broward Coalition for the Homeless developed a two-hour Homelessness 101 training program for police officers. Homelessness 101 is designed to reinforce the Department's policy on the homeless and to raise the awareness of police officers to the reality of homelessness, its causes and the most effective and productive way to address this prevalent social problem. This training is also critical to changing the police culture and attitudes towards homelessness and reinforces the Department's commitment to community policing and problem solving. The training is also another example of the partnerships with the homeless community including the advocates for the homeless and the social service providers.
Homelessness 101 training became necessary, as it was evident that one of the issues that had plagued the homeless was the traditional police response. The homeless were being arrested for minor offenses such as sleeping in public, violations of alcohol related ordinances, urinating in public and trespassing in parks after closing hours. These arrests made it much more difficult for the homeless to become employed, save money, become self-sufficient or have any hope of independence. Furthermore, the homeless became problems for the police in that arrests were merely a short-term resolution to the immediate problem.
Over 200 Fort Lauderdale police officers, sergeants, captains and majors have benefited from this training. The Department will continue these classes on a monthly basis until all police officers have been introduced to this training.
Over 200 Fort Lauderdale police officers, sergeants, captains and majors have benefited from this meaningful training. The Department is continuing these classes on a monthly basis with the goal of having all police officers attend this training. Evidence of the effectiveness of this training is shown by the over 750 homeless referrals by the Fort Lauderdale Police Department to social service agencies in the last 18 months.
DEPARTMENT POLICY ON THE HOMELESS
For any shift in a law enforcement response or approach to be successful, it must have the full support and encouragement of the agency's leadership. The issue must be clearly defined by policy, communicated to the Department and supported by supervision. Clearly, the drafting of a policy regarding Police - Homeless Contacts was the first major step in defining the Fort Lauderdale Police Department model of the police response to homelessness.
The Department policy emphatically states, "Homelessness is not a crime"! Police officers are provided guidance during contact with the homeless and recommendations for alternatives to arrest for minor violations. In fact, police officers are encouraged by policy to refer the homeless to an appropriate social service provider in lieu of arrest. Police officers are also encouraged to make pro-active contact with the homeless to inform them of available social services and offer to assist with admission procedures to the social service agencies.
This non-enforcement approach has not only assisted in the placement of the homeless in appropriate social services agencies but has closed the traditional adversarial gap between the police and the homeless, the advocates for the homeless and the social service providers. These entities are now working in a partnership approach that fosters cooperation and respect.
HOMELESS ASSISTANCE CENTER
One key ingredient in any attempt to provide services to the homeless is the availability of emergency shelter beds and programs. While Broward County has many social services facilities and programs, the Homeless Assistance Center (HAC) provided a much-needed facility in Fort Lauderdale. The HAC opened on February 1, l999 and is a 200 bed facility that only accepts referrals from the referral network within the community including social service agencies and the Fort Lauderdale Police Department. Local ordinance prohibits the facility from accepting walk-up admissions.
Upon admission, the homeless are provided with a health screening, a need assessment, appropriate placement, case management and life management skills. The homeless, who had survived mere existence on the streets, often tempted by petty crime for sustenance are now afforded the opportunity for recovery and independent life. It was critically important that the police referral process of the homeless to the HAC be an efficient and "user friendly" process. It would be counterproductive if police officers are required to spend more time referring a person to the HAC than they would processing an arrest at the City jail. That could mean more arrests instead of referrals. The staff at the HAC has taken every necessary step to ensure the success of their program by developing a system that meets the needs of the homeless as well as the referring agencies.
The Fort Lauderdale Police Department Model for police response to homelessness is based on the understanding that the homeless are not "problem people" but rather "people with problems". The referral process that was established for police requires that the police have verified that the homeless are not wanted for any offenses or violations through a FCIC/NCIC check. The HAC is then contacted to determine if there is an available emergency shelter bed and provided with the name and date of birth of the homeless person. Once he HAC has agreed to accept the individual, the police officer transports him/her and any belongings to the HAC for admission to the facility. This referral is also documented on a police report (miscellaneous incident card).
In the first year of operation, the Fort Lauderdale Police Department has "referred" over 750 homeless persons to the HAC. Many of these homeless persons would have been arrested for petty or nuisance violations in previous years.
POLICE HOMELESS OUTREACH TEAM
The Police Homeless Outreach Team is excellent example of how the law enforcement community can work in a collaborative effort with social service providers and advocates for the homeless to provide for appropriate social services for the homeless. It truly personifies community policy and problem solving.
It became readily apparent that many of the hard-core or chronic homeless were not taking advantage of social services for a variety of reasons. Many, suffering from substance abuse and mental health issues could not make informed decisions about their future. Others are basing decisions about accepting services by prior negative experiences with social services, inaccurate information or unconfirmed rumors regarding the HAC.
In a problem solving approach to this particular group of homeless, the Fort Lauderdale Police Department implemented the Police Homeless Outreach Team. A Local Law Enforcement Block Grant (LLEBG) provided funding for police overtime to work with the homeless. A police officer and a volunteer from the Broward Coalition for the Homeless, Inc. formed a team to proactively seek contact with the hardcore or chronic homeless. This effort was not to take enforcement action against the homeless but to inform them of the available social services and to encourage them to take advantage of such services. Often times, the outreach team had to make repeated contacts with the homeless to establish rapport and to earn the trust and confidence of the homeless before they would accept social services. It is of particular interest that the volunteer was formally homeless with experience living on the streets and in the Homeless Assistance Center (HAC). He was also very familiar with many of the homeless that the team contacted. The fact that the volunteer was able to not only identify with many of the homeless they came into contact with, but was also able to speak from a personal point of view regarding the advantages of the social services was a tremendous assistance in relating to the homeless.
In an effort to provide a "non-threatening" approach to the homeless, the police officer and the volunteer were dressed in plain clothes and operated an unmarked vehicle. It was quickly learned that this approach was counter-productive as the homeless became concerned for their personal safety when approached by two strangers and were not at all receptive to the message regarding social services. On the second night of the outreach, the police officer was in full police uniform and operating a marked police vehicle. The outreach team found the homeless to be much more receptive to the initial contact and willing to listen to the message regarding social services.
In the first five months of operation, the Police Homeless Outreach Team had made contact with over 550 homeless individuals. The team has actually placed over 300 individuals in the various social service agencies including the HAC. As with all admissions to the HAC, the homeless are provided with a health screening, a need assessment, appropriate placement, case management and life management skills.
DISCHARGE OF HOMELESS FROM CITY JAIL
While the Police Department prefers to refer the homeless to an appropriate social service provider in lieu of arrest, many of the homeless continue to be arrested for minor violations. These individuals may be disorderly, intoxicated, or uncooperative. Most of the homeless serve a minimal term in the City Jail and are then released back in the community with no hope for change. The homeless are no better off than prior to the arrest and will likely generate new complaints requiring a police response and the cycle continues.
In an effort to break the "cycle of homelessness," personnel at the City Jail are now attempting to identify those who are homeless during the intake processing stage. It starts with the question "where did you sleep last night"? Any response that indicates that they may be homeless triggers a homeless referral form. This information in provided to the Broward County Social Service Outreach Team that makes twice-weekly intervention visits to the City Jail. The homeless are interviewed by social workers with a goal of placement in an appropriate social service upon release as opposed to release to the continuing cycle of homelessness. This program has proven to be very successful in that over 45% of the homeless discharged from the City Jail are being placed in a social service agency.
COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS
It can not be overstated that community policing recognizes that police departments that work with the community can accomplish great things that neither the police nor the community could accomplish by themselves. The Fort Lauderdale Police Department was able to develop these initiatives with the vision, understanding, and cooperation of many individuals and agencies. This long-term process has become a community partnership that continues to evolve into new initiatives and successes.
- June, 2000 - ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Major Robert R. Pusins, a 27-year veteran, serves as the Major of the Community Support Division (CSD) and leads the Department's homeless initiatives.
Major Pusins is a graduate of the University of South Florida (BA Sociology) and the FBI National Academy. He has served with many community organizations including the Greater Fort Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Council, Riverwalk Fort Lauderdale, Inc., and the Salvation Army's Advisory Council and as the first member of the Fort Lauderdale Police Department to serve on the Board of Directors for the Broward Coalition for the Homeless, Inc.
You can reach Major Pusins at:
Fort Lauderdale Police Department
1300 W. Broward Blvd.
Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33312
Office - (954) 828-6411
Fax - (954) 828-6676
Email - BobP@fortlauderdale.gov