Two specialized units within the Colorado Springs Police Department, which for years have been patrolling concentrated areas of the city for issues pertaining to homelessness, have merged and been re-tasked, according to Lt. Ryan Tepley, who oversees the new Peak Station Unit.
The Homeless Outreach Team and the Downtown Area Response Team were combined on Feb. 1, he said. The resulting unit provides police coverage seven days a week over the entire city, in responding to and enforcing laws regarding illegal urban camping on public property, trespassing and other activities that often involve transients or chronically homeless people who live on the streets.
The HOT team had grown to eight police officers and one sergeant, who since its founding in 2009 have primarily focused on downtown and south of downtown near the city’s two main emergency homeless shelters and Dorchester and Acacia parks…