The number of people being arrested and booked into Miami-Dade jails on charges of illegal camping — a charge often associated with someone experiencing homelessness — have skyrocketed in recent months.
In fact, more people have been booked into jail for illegal camping so far in 2024 than in the previous eight years combined, according to a WLRN analysis.
Much of the increase is driven by a law passed late last year in Miami Beach, which let police make arrests of homeless residents who do not accept shelter. The city has made over 200 arrests of homeless residents so far this year under that law, although not all of those individuals were booked into jail.
Ron Book, the chairman of the Miami-Dade Homeless Trust, told WLRN he is “aware” of the sharp increase in arrests and jail bookings, and that he does not agree that it will help end homelessness.
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“We cannot turn the jail into a homeless shelter and think that that’s ending homelessness. It’s not gonna do it, it’s not gonna solve any problem. They’re gonna go to the jail. They’re gonna stay a day. They’re gonna stay three days. They’re gonna get time served and what have we gained out of that? They’re gonna be back somewhere and we’re gonna re-arrest them,” warned Book.
Looming in the background is a state law set to go into effect on Oct. 1 that will make it illegal to sleep in public across the entire state of Florida.
Book spoke in support of that law as it was being debated in the Florida Legislature, saying that "it certainly begins to set a process in place to minimize [homeless] encampments."
But now he admits that it makes him nervous as timelines get closer. The bill allows residents to sue local governments for damages if homeless residents continue to sleep in public places, starting on Jan. 1st. Local governments could be forced to open camps for homeless residents under pressure from lawsuits.
“We cannot turn the jail into a homeless shelter and think that that’s ending homelessness. It’s not gonna do it, it’s not gonna solve any problem."Ron Book, Chairman of the Homeless Trust
Book stressed that the Homeless Trust has significant money that it can use to acquire permanent housing for homeless residents. Yet those plans continually run into roadblocks and pushback from local governments and homeowners.
Last year the Homeless Trust opened a former assisted living facility to house 128 elderly residents experiencing homelessness. It is trying to buy a site close to Krome Avenue in Western Miami-Dade that can house 190 men experiencing homelessness. And for over a year the Homeless Trust has been trying to get approval to buy a property in Cutler Bay, but it has faced setback after setback on that project.
“I worry about how fast we can move, and facing penalties by the courts if the courts choose not to take an understanding approach,” said Book. “You’re going to be facing local governments taking tax dollars to pay off litigation and settlements. You set up a cause of action – what is the plaintiff going to pursue? Financial damages.”
After that law was passed in Miami Beach, jail bookings for charges of illegal camping immediately skyrocketed across Miami-Dade County, jail records show, even though the law has technically not gone into effect yet. Most arrests took place either in the City of Miami, which has stepped up sweeps of encampments, or Miami Beach.
Between May 2015 and March 2024, 57 individuals were booked into Miami-Dade jails on charges of illegal camping. Then, between April and August of this year, over 90 separate people have been booked into jail for illegal camping charges.
Twice annual head count
On a recent Thursday night, several Miami Beach police officers, city staff and employees of the Homeless Trust gathered to perform the twice annual “Homeless Census” on Lincoln Road on Miami Beach in order to track the amount of homeless residents, as well as to track if they have been shifting geographic locations.
Book speculated that the arrests on Miami Beach have played a role in shifting the population “over to the mainland in hopes that they stay on the mainland.”
“That certainly has the people in Miami Springs awake, that certainly has the people in Miami awake, it certainly has the people in Hialeah awake — because they’re watching those, if you will, pop-ups happening,” said Book.
Existing homeless shelters are “bursting at the seams,” and cannot house more people, said Book. More than 2,700 homeless residents sleep in county shelters every night, according to a recent memo.
Miami Beach city manager Eric Carpenter joined the team doing the homeless census on Lincoln Road. He acknowledged that the city and the Homeless Trust see things differently, but he stressed that the city is doing the right thing by making arrests.
“We’re trying to do what we think is best for both the constituents that are homeless as well as the rest of the city. And we’re trying to constantly strike that balance. We are giving people every opportunity to choose to accept our services and hopefully get themselves in a better place in life,” said Carpenter.
Close to midnight, Book and a city staffer spoke to an 83-year-old woman experiencing homelessness. She sat with her head hanging low on a bench along Lincoln Road and told them that she has been homeless since May. Her rent was increased so high that she could not afford it on a fixed income, she said, and she was evicted.
The interaction left a deep impression on Book. He called staffers of the Homeless Trust to try to assist her in getting into a shelter and hopefully, to get her into permanent housing.
“That lady can’t freakin’ walk. And — I don’t want to say this — and she’s afraid she’s gonna get arrested,” he said. “Those are her words not mine.”
“We’re trying to do what we think is best for both the constituents that are homeless as well as the rest of the city. And we’re trying to constantly strike that balance."Miami Beach City Manager Eric Carpenter
Compared to last August, the homeless population of Miami Beach decreased by 13%, down to 132 from 152 residents, according to the results of the annual census. At the same time, the homeless population of the City of Miami increased by 16%, from 534 people to 619.
Across Miami-Dade County, the overall number went up 2%, a growth that has been entirely driven by new homeless residents in the City of Miami.
'House keys not handcuffs'
On another night recently, a Saturday, a few dozen activists and locals gathered in front of the Versace Mansion on Ocean Drive to protest the sharp uptick in homeless residents getting arrested.
They noted that Miami Beach does not legally allow any homeless shelters within city limits. As a result, anyone who accepts a shelter bed offered by the city by definition has to leave the city to the mainland. And if not, they could be arrested.
Karina Sibata is a resident of South Beach who felt a moral obligation to show up. She’s helped write signs that read “House keys, not handcuffs.”
“I think a lot of people just want them out of their sight,” said Sibata. “Maybe that’s why this law passed. Because so many people just don’t want to be bothered by it. They don’t want to see — they don’t want to be inconvenienced by it. And I think seeing people on the street, it makes them uncomfortable.”
David Peery is the executive director of the Miami Coalition to Advance Racial Equity, an activist group. He experienced homelessness himself in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, and he sees what’s happening on Miami Beach as a major civil rights issue.
“When you’re involuntarily homeless, you have no other choice but to sleep on public property. You have no other alternatives,” he said.
Peery warned that what’s happening on Miami Beach is a precursor to what could happen statewide in the new year when the statewide law goes into effect, banning sleeping in public across the entire state.
“It’s simply making it illegal now to be homeless. And you’re not homeless because of anything you did, you’re homeless because we live in the most expensive housing market in the nation and because the minimum wage is nowhere near enough to afford a living space,” said Peery. “But even worse is that it has provisions in it that allow private citizens to sue cities to compel them to go after the homeless.”
