The most recent attempt to tabulate the unsheltered in Southern Nevada saw a 13-year-high in the number of people experiencing homelessness. (Photo: Michael Lyle/Nevada Current)
As homeless rates in Southern Nevada have skyrocketed, both Clark County and the City of Las Vegas have recently taken more punitive measures to criminalize the unhoused for sleeping in public.
Clark County voted 6-1 last week to prohibit unhoused folks from camping and sleeping in a public right-of-way. Under the ordinance, which goes into effect Feb. 1, a person could be jailed up to 10 days and fined up to $1,000.
The law is supposed to be enforced after a warning and only if shelter space is available to direct unhoused folks to in lieu of citation or arrest. .
Clark County Commissioner William McCurdy cast the dissenting vote.
“I ask that we take a hard look at what we’re doing and ask ourselves if we are moving too fast,” McCurdy said.
He argued that the county lacks sufficient resources, including beds, housing, and administrative capacity to connect unhoused folks to services.