As Central Florida leaders continue to grapple with how to help the region’s growing population of homeless people, local activists in Orlando criticized city leaders Monday for their approval of an ordinance earlier this year that they say has disproportionately been used to arrest people who are living on the streets, or without shelter.
The ordinance, approved by nearly unanimously by the Orlando City Commission in January, expanded the city’s definition of “disorderly conduct” to include “Any person who walks, stands, sits, lies, or places an object in such manner as to intentionally block passage by another person or to require another person to take evasive action to avoid physical contact.” Disorderly conduct is a misdemeanor charge punishable by a fine of up to $500 and up to 60 days in jail.
According to arrest and booking data reviewed by activists with the Revolutionary Education & Action League, shared with Orlando Weekly , roughly 1,600 people identified as “transient,” or homeless, were arrested and booked into the Orange County Jail between Jan. 1 and Aug. 31, 2024. About one-third of arrests involved charges of trespass; another 31 percent involved consuming or possessing open containers of alcohol in public, and 11 percent involved urinating or defecating in public.
At least 18 homeless people were booked into jail specifically on the expanded disorderly conduct charge created under the new city ordinance. Ten of the 18 arrested were identified in booking records as homeless.