Community Care?
Missoula Considers New Law Against Street Sleeping
By Travis Koch, 8-26-09
Man sleeping in alley near NewWest office. Photo by Travis Koch
The Missoula police department is pushing for stricter laws that would make it easier for the city to regulate people who rest on, or otherwise obstruct, public walkways.
In a Public Safety and Health committee meeting this morning, Police Chief Mark Muir answered questions about the necessity of a more explicit pedestrian obstruction ordinance, and its potential effect on homeless people and other citizens.
Muir began the discussion by claiming that the ordinance was, in part, designed to protect people who were found sleeping on the street.
“We’re kidding ourselves if we think that a sidewalk is a safe place to lie,” said Muir. He cited recent cases where street people were abused or robbed while sleeping outdoors.
But several city council members voiced opposition to the proposed ordinance, saying, among other things, that it seemed unnecessary and wrongly singled out and attacked one segment of the population over others.
“The real issue,” said council member Bob Jaffe, “is the need to move people along because the downtown business community is afraid these people are scaring off their customers.”
If police already have the responsibility and authority to keep people safe, asked Jaffe, why do they need another law that prohibits sleeping on the sidewalk?
“I take exception to the idea that we would propose an ordinance that allows us to legally harass certain people,” responded Muir. However, he agreed that the ordinance was less about keeping homeless people safe, which police are already authorized to do, and more about giving officers the authority to wake up street people, question them and require them to move along without risking charges of harassment.
“I will say that the focus has shifted from the beginning of this process,” said Muir. “I’m here to tell you that we are unable to remove people who are obstructing a passage. But I agree that this has gotten distorted—it’s not strictly about community care. The goal of this ordinance is to make downtown—our entire community—a better place.”
Ellie Boldman Hill, executive director of the Poverello Center, a non-profit shelter providing essential services to struggling Missoulians, said people who sleep on sidewalks are generally people with various forms of mental illnesses and addiction problems.
“I would say they’re sleeping downtown because they’re under the influence, but it’s really the mental illness that explains why they’re on the sidewalk,” said Hill. “They’re not choosing that. They have nowhere else to go.”
Council member Ed Childers lamented the lack of better solutions to the problem. “Our society expects everybody to have a place and a reason for being there,” he said. “Homeless people don’t have a place in our society, and we have no solution for that.”
The committee will continue to debate the proposed ordinance next week.
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God bless America !
I am only in Missoula 4 months a year otherwise I would have gotten caught by now.
I regularly come across people defecating in open public broad daylight situations. I have had to defend my person and those with me from confrontational agressive behavior. I wonder who would be charged if I had to resort to physically defending my person. It does not matter if they are users or mental, our downtown is suffering from the lack of enforcement, and Missoula has gained a reputation because of it.
Compassion yes, but another area like the courthouse lawn, should suffice for napping in the day. Street performers are a legitimate form of offering service/entertainment, but people and dogs blocking the sidewalks beating their instruments and shouting something or another,while tripping over their mastiff dogs, should not be acceptable to anyone who like to see downtown thrive. We have a unique town and it is being ruined by lack of enforcement of laws already in place. Move them out!
Last night , the latest Downtown experience for me was watching the filthy foursome of stoned out beggar 20 year olds hover over our table waiting to scavenge our leftovers....and this was inside the shop.
These professional bums had a pretty good scam going,... to be as disgustingly filthy and stinking as you can in the local sandwich shop, leer at us with predator eyes until we are grossed out and so uncomfortable that we leave....then they move in for the scraps. This is Jaffe's and Wiener's and Rye's Missoula.
“The real issue,” said council member Bob Jaffe, “is the need to move people along because the downtown business community is afraid these people are scaring off their customers.”
Lots of those on stand-by.
You can hose them out and they are hard to burn.
Yup, regular liberal.... I guess people that WORKED all their lives should not own an RV.... Afterall, they are "fat, old, retired, and have plenty of money"....
I acually made the mistake of camping at the Walmart parking lot in Missoula.... (And let me assure you that my RV is valued at closer to $1,000, than it is at $100,000) Two weeks ago.... I have never been more scared while camping ANYWHERE! About 7:00 pm beat up old cars start rolling in. (Some with no windows). These people are EXTREMELY agressive! Panhandling, outright asking for drugs, they basicly just take this parking lot over as "their" "turf".... But the first question each and everyone of them asks is the same.... "Do you smoke?" (Meaning Meth).... This was actually, after camping for more than 40 years, the first time that I slept with a weapon handy. If YOU do not think that Missoula (opps, ugly truth coming) has a problem with these people, than perhaps it is not them who has the problem....
....." and even though there are signs at each entrance explicity stating that camping is against City ordinance, nothing is done about it. In fact, I have seen people getting in trouble from Wal-Mart staff for "harassing" the parking lot patrons in their RV's at night. Why aren't Missoula City Police doing something about THAT problem? It's breaking the law, isn't it?"....
Umm, did it ever dawn on you, that Walmart is a PRIVATELY owned company? They OWN the parking lot! If you want to let people camp at your house (on private property) the city should have the power to stop you???? The city of Missoula can enact any "ordinance"! they want, but that has zero LEGAL VALUE on private property!
Some people are part of the problem, not part of the solution....