The city of Phoenix reported having an 82 percent success rate with admitting The Zone’s homeless into shelters after a court order to clean up the infamous downtown homeless encampment.
The majority success rate came just ahead of the court-ordered deadline last week, Nov. 4. Of the 716 homeless in The Zone, 590 consented to entering a shelter according to Rachel Milne, director of the Office of Homeless Solutions. That’s a success rate of over 82 percent.
Milne also said that they managed to reconnect some of those sheltered homeless with their families, or got them established with treatment programs. Milne says that shelter only serves as the beginning of securing permanent housing for the homeless.
“We need to make sure those 590 individuals that did move on to an indoor location now have the support systems and the proper services to help them in their homelessness,” said Milne.
That concern relates to the recidivism rates of The Zone’s residents, something noted by the Maricopa County Superior Court when it ordered the city to clear The Zone.
In his ruling, Judge Scott Blaney criticized city officials equating 70 percent of individuals accepting services as a permanent movement from the streets. Blaney ruled the data as potentially misleading, noting that the city wasn’t able to disclose how many of those individuals accepted a “free hotel room for the night” before returning to The Zone the next day.
As part of their compliance with the court order, the city established clear signage prohibiting encampments and other related criminal activity around the area that formerly housed The Zone.
🧵INBOX: Welcome to The Zone, the epicenter of the homeless crisis that @CityofPhoenixAZ refuses to solve. This man is one of many that will likely live and die on these streets under the city's current approach to homelessness. I investigated & uncovered shocking details… pic.twitter.com/snb8QkvjsA
AZ Free News published a series of reports on the nature of The Zone: rampant crime and lawlessness: murders and assaults, drug use and dealings, prostitution, gang violence, theft and property destruction, bordered all around by knee-deep and blocks-long biohazards.
One of the lawyers that sued the city over its handling of The Zone, Ilan Wurman, marveled at the success rate the city of Phoenix experienced when forced to meet a court deadline to help the homeless.
“We did it. Because of our lawsuit, the City has cleared the Zone,” said Wurman. “And look at the huge number of folks who ACCEPTED SHELTER. Just incredible.”
We did it. Because of our lawsuit, the City has cleared the Zone. And look at the huge number of folks who ACCEPTED SHELTER. Just incredible.
The Maricopa County Superior Court ruled on Wednesday that the city of Phoenix violated the law by enabling the existence of the infamous mass homeless encampment downtown known as “The Zone.”
Judge Scott Blaney declared in his ruling that the city displayed utter disregard for law-abiding citizens, instead issuing preferential treatment to the homeless by tolerating lawbreaking.
“[I]n their zeal to assist homeless individuals occupying the Zone, City personnel appear to be utterly indifferent to the plight of the City’s constituent property owners, their families, and small business owners that are attempting to make a living,” said Blaney. “The City’s refusal to meaningfully enforce statutes and ordinances in the Zone has created a classic siren song to certain individuals that are enticed at their peril by the Zone’s drugs, sex, and lack of societal rules.”
Blaney ordered the city to clear The Zone by Nov. 4, and keep the area clear of encampments and biohazards associated with the homeless (public defecation, drug paraphernalia, trash) thereafter. Blaney directed counsel for all parties to reconvene on Nov. 30 to review the city’s compliance with his order.
Blaney ruled that the city “intentionally” stopped or materially reduced the enforcement of criminal, health, and quality-of-life laws in The Zone; transported homeless individuals into The Zone with taxpayer-funded “courtesy rides” from police officers and community partners like Community Bridges; and generally allowed and even encouraged the occupation of The Zone.
As such, Blaney said the city was to blame for the increase in violent crime, organized crime, public drug use, biohazards, property crimes, prostitution, public indecency, fire hazards, blocked rights of way, environmental deterioration, and businesses’ decline.
The judge noted that prior to 2018, homelessness was limited, encampments weren’t present in the area, and residents considered the area safe. The ruling traced The Zone’s origins to early 2019, when current Mayor Kate Gallego assumed office.
A major argument presented by the city for their neglect of The Zone was a lack of shelter beds. Blaney declared the city failed to provide credible evidence of this claim; he also pointed out that there’s an unknown number of homeless individuals who are homeless by choice. City representatives admitted at trial that they determine whether an individual is “involuntarily homeless” based on self-reporting, not an investigation into that individual’s case. Some, as Blaney said, could well have the means to secure shelter through government benefits or a disability pension.
City representatives also admitted in testimony that it was their strategy to not prosecute individuals within The Zone for any crimes committed. The representatives relied on euphemistic language to describe their decriminalization approach, expressing that they “would prefer” those individuals to not “become justice involved.”
Blaney determined that the city’s approach essentially legalized all crime for any individual within The Zone.
“[I]f a homeless individual is confronted for an alleged crime, the city’s strategy is to pursue services for the individual instead of a conviction,” said Blaney.
As reported by AZ Free News and told to the residents who sued the city, police officers were advised that “the Zone is off-limits to enforcement.” Blaney also noted that the city appeared to reverse this policy of keeping police out of The Zone following his preliminary injunction earlier this year.
Blaney also detailed police’s delayed response to emergency calls, resulting in non-actions like asking a homeless individual to leave private property but refusing to remove those offenders from public easements or sidewalks adjacent to the property, even if that individual was intoxicated or high on drugs.
The mass encampments grew from an impasse of “service resistant” homeless that apparently stumped the city with their preference to life on the streets. These “service resistant,” reportedly didn’t want to follow the rules of the shelters by giving up their contraband of drugs and weapons, their pets, their partners, or the many possessions they’d accumulated that wouldn’t fit in the shelter space. According to a 2022 survey of the homeless conducted by the city, nearly 20 percent expressed this sentiment.
It’s likely the “service resistant” recognized that they could have the best of both worlds: three meals a day and a steady supply of other resources, like heat relief or hygiene packs provided by the city at no cost with no questions asked, and the ability to live “rule-free” and partake in all the drugs, alcohol, and prostitution they desired without fear of punishment from law enforcement.
“Although unthinkable for the general public, there are many individuals in the Zone that choose to live in a tent on the sidewalks or in the street, with three meals each day provided by the Human Services Campus and the ability to engage in antisocial behavior and drug use,” observed Blaney.
The city defended their inaction over the impasse. Their witness, Sheila Harris, attempted to convince Blaney of her plan to implement “permanent supportive housing” or “housing first,” in which homeless individuals are given the housing and then all other problems, like drug addiction, are dealt with afterward. Harris was credited as the main expert behind the city’s current approach in solving homelessness.
Blaney rejected Harris’ proposal. He sided with the perspective that the enforcement of laws resulted in more law and order, not less.
Blaney said that Harris’ “unusually soft” and “more expensive” approach wouldn’t come close to solving the causes behind homelessness or the myriad of dangers they’ve created, namely mental health and drug issues. Rather, Blaney pointed out that the increased enforcement of laws and interventions have proven to incentivize the homeless to either return to live with friends or family, move into transitional housing, or move to other cities with “more permissive laws” and no camping bans.
“According to Dr. Harris, the City of Phoenix’s plan, which she helped create, uses less enforcement and instead looks to an individual’s wants and needs,” said Blaney. “Although the Court agrees that all individuals, homeless or not, deserve to be treated with dignity, the Court does not believe that Dr. Harris’ unusually soft approach to addressing the dangerous and chaotic conditions in the Zone would be effective.”
Blaney also expressed doubt in the city’s estimation that 70 percent of individuals accepted services which translated into a permanent movement from the streets. The judge said that number was potentially misleading, noting that the city wasn’t able to disclose how many of those individuals accepted a “free hotel room for the night” before returning to The Zone the next day.
Unlike the homeless, the city would enforce laws on regular citizens, Blaney noted. The judge pointed out the irony of the city’s arbitrary enforcement of right-of-way law in its handling of a local business who took the opportunity presented by some gas line work to install sculptures in a spot where the homeless had been encamped. Yet, the city took no issue with the homeless encampment in the same spot also in violation of right-of-way law.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
The city of Phoenix began cleaning up the mass homeless encampment known as The Zone this week, after attempts to resist a court injunction to do so. Local residents and business owners have endured the burgeoning public health and safety hazards of the area for about three years.
The cleanups began on Wednesday. City officials reportedly won’t allow the homeless to return to the area if they don’t find shelter. About 900 homeless camped out in The Zone.
The cleanup has begun at “The Zone” on 9th Ave between Washington and Jefferson. pic.twitter.com/aKYZGaNqi3
The city also re-released a plan to address homelessness on Wednesday morning, largely centered on doubling down on efforts to place homeless individuals with relevant treatment programs. The plan was published originally late last month.
— City of Phoenix, AZ (@CityofPhoenixAZ) May 10, 2023
The city’s plan includes creating 800 more shelter beds by the end of 2024, and parsing out the $140 million committed beginning in July 2021. The city also proposed potentially leasing hotel rooms, using vacant plots, and creating a campsite of sorts.
The city noted in its plan that the five cleanups initiated since December resulted in placement of 67 percent of the several hundred offered services.
The CEO of the shelter at the heart of the Zone, Amy Shwabenlender with Human Services Campus, toldAZ Family that the cleanup was necessary, but not a “long-term solution.”
The city of Phoenix unsuccessfully fought the Maricopa County Superior Court order to clean up the Zone earlier this month. Within the same day of the city’s petition to extend the July deadline for cleanup, Maricopa County Superior Court denied the petition. Judge Scott Blaney rejected the city’s claim in its petition that it had already undertaken significant action.
“The Court interprets this argument as meaning the injunction is unnecessary because the City is already taking steps to abate the horrible conditions in the Zone,” wrote Blaney. “But the Court issued the Preliminary Injunction based, in part, upon the City’s past failure to address the issues in The Zone, as well as the City’s apparent lack of intent to do so until faced with possible judicial intervention.”
Blaney ordered the city to commence its cleanup of The Zone in late March. Blaney declared that the city had done nothing to improve the public nuisance caused by the mass homeless encampment burdening the downtown area. Rather, Blaney said that the city’s actions purporting to address the homeless crisis had served only to grow its bureaucracy and ineffective programs initiated by themselves and nonprofits over the years.
“With few exceptions, the action items about which city representatives testified centered around the creation of more bureaucracy, additional staff positions, and obtaining additional funding for programs to vaguely address homelessness in general,” stated Blaney. “The Court received very little evidence — if any — that the City intends to take immediate, meaningful action to protect its constituent business owners, their employees, and residents from the lawlessness and chaos in the Zone.”
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
Last Friday, the Maricopa County Superior Court denied the city of Phoenix’s motion to extend the deadline imposed to clean up The Zone.
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Scott Blaney apparently rejected the city’s insistence that they’d begun taking sufficient action.
“The Court interprets this argument as meaning the injunction is unnecessary because the City is already taking steps to abate the horrible conditions in the Zone,” wrote Blaney. “But the Court issued the Preliminary Injunction based, in part, upon the City’s past failure to address the issues in The Zone, as well as the City’s apparent lack of intent to do so until faced with possible judicial intervention.
In their motion to stay the court’s preliminary injunction, the city said it didn’t dispute the current conditions of the homeless encampments, but opposed the actions they were required to take, namely the court’s suggestion of campgrounds. The city took issue with the required deadline of July 10.
“[D]eciding how to spend taxpayers’ money, deliver services, and create new infrastructure for public housing is a legislative, not judicial function,” stated the city. “[T]he order intrudes into local law enforcement and prosecutorial discretion in what appears to be an order to take mandatory enforcement action — ignoring any analysis of the facts on the ground and ordering sweeping relief in its stead.”
The city further claimed that Blaney violated the constitutional separation of powers. It also seemed to question the judge’s description of homeless individuals’ conduct as a “nuisance.” Blaney’s ruling outlined the many ways that The Zone qualified as a public nuisance. The city said it couldn’t guarantee cleaning up The Zone.
“While the City seeks to maintain a clean and crime-free environment for its residents, those are outcomes that the City simply cannot guarantee, even with the expenditure of significant resources,” stated the city.
The city also claimed that Blaney’s order didn’t reflect public interest or the true desires of the Phoenix community. That contradicts the numerous business owners and residents of The Zone and elsewhere in the city that have complained about the homeless crisis.
“The City’s policies are the product of community meetings with policymakers, the gathering of information from all relevant stakeholders, and the advice of experts at the City and throughout the community,” wrote the city. “To circumvent this process and supplant the City’s plans with the Court’s own judgment is against public interest.”
🧵INBOX: Welcome to The Zone, the epicenter of the homeless crisis that @CityofPhoenixAZ refuses to solve. This man is one of many that will likely live and die on these streets under the city's current approach to homelessness. I investigated & uncovered shocking details… pic.twitter.com/snb8QkvjsA
The homeless crisis spiraled following the election of Mayor Kate Gallego, a Democrat, in 2019.
The Maricopa County Superior Court ruled in late March that the city of Phoenix was at fault for the current state of The Zone, and imposed a cleanup deadline this summer. The ruling came days after city officials promised to meet to discuss solutions for The Zone, in the wake of back-to-back murders.
Details of a settlement in a separate, federal case haven’t been publicized yet.
Democratic leadership has generally downplayed the urgency of the public nuisances and dangers presented by The Zone.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
Democrats like to believe they are the party of compassion and kindness, but the reality in most blue cities says otherwise. For years, homeless encampments have been springing up in liberal-run cities like Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. And in recent years, this trend made its way into Phoenix.
Just blocks from the state capitol, amidst what was once a thriving business district, a sprawling encampment of around 1,000 homeless has come to be known as “The Zone.” It’s a place where drug use, drug deals, defecation, urination, sexual acts, assaults, rape, and murder are frequently committed out in the open—often with little to no consequences. The problem has even gotten so bad that the Phoenix Fire Department won’t respond to calls inside The Zone without assistance from the Phoenix Police Department and assurance that the scene of the incident is secure.
But crime within The Zone is only one part of the problem…
