PENDLETON, Ore. – The Pendleton Warming Station will open its doors for the 2017-18 season on November 15 and will operate on nights where the temperature is forecast to be below 32° Fahrenheit – if there are enough volunteers. A low of 32° Fahrenheit was observed on October 3, 2017 at the Eastern Oregon Regional Airport at Pendleton.
Homelessness is not a crime and the Pendleton Police Department is required by Oregon law to “develop a policy that recognizes the social nature of the problem of homeless individuals camping on public property” and “implement the policy as developed, to ensure the most humane treatment for removal of homeless individuals from camping sites on public property.”
This policy must include, but is not limited to:
• Before removal of homeless individuals from an established camp site, law enforcement officials shall post a notice, written in English and Spanish, 24 hours in advance.
• At the time that a 24-hour notice is posted, law enforcement officials shall inform the local agency that delivers social services to homeless individuals where the notice has been posted.
• The local agency may arrange for outreach workers to visit the camping site where a notice has been posted to assess the need for social service assistance in arranging shelter and other assistance.
• All unclaimed personal property shall be given to law enforcement officials … The property shall be stored for a minimum of 30 days during which it will be reasonably available to any individual claiming ownership. Any personal property that remains unclaimed for 30 days may be disposed of. Items that have no apparent utility or are in an insanitary condition may be immediately discarded upon removal of the homeless individuals from the camping site. Weapons, drug paraphernalia and items that appear to be either stolen or evidence of a crime shall be given to law enforcement officials.
• Following the removal of homeless individuals from a camping site on public property, the law enforcement officials, local agency officials and outreach workers may meet to assess the notice and removal policy, to discuss whether the removals are occurring in a humane and just manner and to determine if any changes are needed in the policy.
Pendleton Police Department has been accredited by the Oregon Accreditation Alliance since April 2009. According to their website “the Oregon Accreditation Alliance exists to improve the quality of law enforcement agencies in the State of Oregon and ultimately the quality of services provided to the citizens of this state.” The Oregon Accreditation Alliance was formed in April 2001.
According to Pendleton Police Department Policy 463, “it is the policy of the Pendleton Police Department to provide law enforcement services to all members of the community while protecting the rights, dignity and private property of the homeless. Homelessness is not a crime and members of this department will not use homelessness solely as a basis for detention or law enforcement action.”
Policy 463 goes on to state that the Chief will designate a member of the department to be the Homeless Liaison Officer. The Homeless Liaison Officer’s responsibilities include:
• Maintaining a list of assistance programs that are available to the homeless.
• Meet with Social Services and representatives of other organizations that render assistance to the homeless.
• Maintain a list of frequent homeless encampments.
• Keep up to date on laws dealing with the removal and destruction of the personal property of the homeless.
• Be present during any clean-up operations involving the removal of personal property from homeless encampments to ensure that the rights of the homeless are not violated.
• Develop training to assist officers in understanding current legal and social issues relating to homelessness.
Policy 463 encourages officers to “contact the homeless for purposes of rendering aid, support and for community-oriented policing purposes. … When encountering a homeless person who has committed a non-violent misdemeanor and continued freedom is not likely to result in a continuation of the offense or a breach of the peace officers are encouraged to consider long-term solutions to problems that may relate to the homeless, such as shelter referrals and counseling in lieu of physical arrest.”
Pendleton Police Officers are instructed that when they come across property in public spaces that reasonably appears to be the property of a homeless person they should not remove or destroy that property but should inform the Homeless Liaison Officer if the property appears to involve trespassing, blight to the community or is the subject of a complaint. It is against department policy to “conduct or assist in clean-up operations of belongings that reasonably appear to be the property of homeless persons without the prior authorization of a supervisor or the department Homeless Liaison Officer.”
Before removing homeless persons from a campsite that is located on public property officers are required to:
• Advise violators that they are camping on public property and [that] such encampments are illegal if individuals are present.
• Post a notice in English and Spanish advising the violators to vacate within 24 hours. This same notice shall list a local agency that delivers social services to homeless individuals.
• Notify the agency listed on the posting of the campsite’s location.
• Obtain a case number and prepare a police report documenting the incident.
Officers are further instructed that they “should use reasonable care when handling, collecting and retaining the personal property of homeless persons and should not destroy or discard the personal property of a homeless person. When a homeless person is arrested … officers should make reasonable accommodations to permit the person to lawfully secure his [or] her personal property. Otherwise, the arrestee’s personal property should be collected for safekeeping.”
During the winter, officers have the option of referring homeless people that they meet to the Pendleton Warming Station. During the 2016-17 season the Pendleton Warming Station was open 103 days, serving 101 individual guests with an average of 14 guests per night. Peak attendance was on January 23, 2017. According to the National Weather Service Online Weather Data, the temperature was 33° Fahrenheit on January 23 in Pendleton.
The Pendleton Warming Station 2017-18 season is from November 15, 2017 to March 15, 2018. Training for new volunteers will be held on October 21 and October 28 at the Pendleton Warming Station which is located at 715 SE Court Ave. from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Members of the public who are interested in volunteering are encouraged to attend.