Durango Police Department has spent about $242,000 on enforcement of trespassing, illegal camping and dumping, open container laws, shoplifting and indecent exposure - incidents associated with homelessness – since 2020.
The number of illegal camping and littering incidents has skyrocketed by nearly 799% since 2020, from 215 incidents that year to 1,932 incidents last year. But that doesn’t mean homelessness is that much more prevalent in Durango currently compared with five years ago.
Durango Police Chief Brice Current attributed the rise in incidents to a more proactive approach to enforcement.
Incidents don’t equate to altercations or arrests. An incident could be as simple as tagging a tent or contacting a person, he said.
“The rangers are out there spending all their time – 80% of their time – looking for camps and engaging with people,” he told Durango City Council at a study session last month. “As they engage with people, they learn more about camps and they’re encouraging people to report. Those numbers just keep going up.”
Current said many illegal camps went unnoticed before City Council approved a park ranger program in June 2023.
“It was sad to go behind the tech center back there and to just see camps literally disintegrating into the earth,” he said.
Park rangers by far spend the most time enforcing violations associated with homelessness, freeing up police and code enforcement officers, who spend about 5% and 10% of their time annually on illegal camping, trespassing and similar issues.
Of the police department’s expenses, he said camp cleanup only amounts to about $18,000, or $5,000 annually, because most of the work is performed in-house. The department has spent $3,400 in contracted services for more hazardous sites so far this year.
Councilor Shirley Gonzales asked Current what it would cost to hire more officers and ramp up enforcement, a request she said she’s heard from community members.
Current said that depends on the results the community wants to see and how much money it wants to spend. With a new tax-funded joint city hall and police department, approved by voters in April, on the way, the police department is looking for the most efficient policing strategies.
“It just depends on how much money, technology and people you want to throw at each issue. And then balance that with freedom and also transparency with the public,” he said. “ … Every time I ask for extra people, I’m always challenged to look at technology and look at other things as well. And I appreciate that.”
cburney@durangoherald.com
