Miami makes people homeless and then arrests them for being homeless.
Nearly 1/3 of persons required to register as sex offenders in Miami-Dade are homeless. That’s an insane statistic. They are not homeless because they want to be. They are legislated into homelessness because of the County’s “Lauren Book Child Safety Act” that sets a 2500 residency restriction. They are not refusing emergency shelter. They can’t go to an emergency shelter because there are no homeless shelters in Miami-Dade that will take people on the registry. You can ask Ron Book why – he chairs the Miami-Dade Homeless Trust (305-375-1490).
According to reporting by WLRN and an advisory from our Legislative Committee, the City of Miami just passed (3 to 2) an amendment to its homelessness ordinance that would allow police officers to make arrests without first providing a written warning.
They are still required to offer shelter, but buried within the proposed ordinance is a provision that specifically singles out people on the sex offender registry. The ordinance states: “Notwithstanding the foregoing, nothing herein shall be construed to prevent or otherwise prohibit a police officer from arresting a person in violation of this section who is ineligible for shelter placement for any reason including, but not limited to: such person being under the influence of alcohol or drugs; such person having been previously banned from the available shelter; such person’s status as a sexual offender, sexual predator, or domestic violence offender; or any other past or present conduct rendering such person ineligible for placement in a shelter.”
In other words, a person experiencing homelessness who is listed on Florida’s registry could potentially be arrested immediately, without a written warning and without being offered shelter, simply because their registry status makes them ineligible for shelter placement.
How can a government require someone to comply with lifetime restrictions that make housing impossible, then criminalize them when those same restrictions contribute to their homelessness?
The ordinance has already passed and the Mayor, Eileen Higgins ([email protected]) (or call: 305-250-5300) has until Monday to veto it.
If you get a chance, please contact Mayor Higgins and remind her that a policy that creates homelessness and then criminalizes the homeless person for the consequences created by that legislation, is not a public safety solution. It is a revolving door. Encourage her to veto the bill until the County’s Homeless Trust has an opportunity to come up with a solution.
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How many times must I repeat the obvious answers before they become..well obvious? This isn’t an “oversight” it isn’t a “neglect”….this is all part of a system working exactly as intended.. Which is also exactly why meaningful change based on pesky things like “constitution” “facts” “reality” will never come into play. These data driven nuggets will be hidden and buried the second they interfere or threaten the system and it’s existence … It is ironic though that the system uses “I’m a victim” so it’s ok for me to “create real life victims” to sustain and propagate itself… I’ve always had a suspicion there is much more to Lauren and Ron Books story then meets the idea, more truths to the tale then have been made available..I understand it isn’t “politically correct” to question a narrative once someone screams “I’m a victim” it’s automatically assumed there isn’t more to the story. What a lot of leeway that leaves….If only…
If you get a chance, please contact Mayor Higgins and remind her that a policy that creates homelessness and then criminalizes the homeless person for the consequences created by that legislation, is not a public safety solution. It is a revolving door. Encourage her to veto the bill until the County’s Homeless Trust has an opportunity to come up with a solution.
This is a little off topic, but here in leon county you can not got to a shelter during a hurricane because the pit the shelters at schools and they ban sex offenders anyways. A couple years ago I was under a mandatory evacuation order. My only option was to check I to the jail. Now way was I doing that. So I rode out the storm illegally in my own home. I was the only person around in my own neighborhood. I was alone and thank god a tree didn’t crush my home. The government doesn’t care about our well being.