Fort Lauderdale officials say their goal is not to arrest homeless people for sleeping on the sidewalk — but if they have to, they will.
And if the Broward County jail refuses to take them, Fort Lauderdale says it will have no choice but to make arrests based on the state law that bans sleeping and camping in public places rather than the new city ordinance approved Tuesday night.
A new state law banning camping or sleeping on public property took effect Tuesday. Starting Jan. 1, cities can be sued for not enforcing the ban.
Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony has made it clear the county jail , which is run by the Sheriff’s Office, will not accept anyone whose arrest was based on violating a municipal ordinance.
Tony released this message on Tuesday: “Jail is not the place to shelter and provide services to the homeless, and I have directed our Department of Detention to no longer accept individuals who are brought to the jail for purely municipal ordinance violations. So, rounding up the homeless and bringing them to the jails in downtown Fort Lauderdale or Pompano Beach is neither a good solution nor an available one.”