Police outline patrols, encampment cleanups and downtown security guard after businesses report impacts

Melbourne’s police chief told the council that addressing homelessness consumes significant department resources and that a mix of patrol strategies, community‑resource officers and partnerships are the department’s primary tools to respond to complaints.

Chief David Gillespie briefed the council on the department’s tactics. He said the department uses direct patrols (assigning officers to check problem locations when free), incident action plans (IAPs) deploying focused personnel for defined periods), and two community resource officers (north and south) plus one officer assigned full time to the CRA; he also named commanders and supervisors who oversee those units. Gillespie said earlier estimates put homelessness‑related calls at roughly 30% of service workload and suggested that proportion has likely increased. He described encampment response: notices, 30‑day removal for public property, and cleanup coordination with city staff when encampments are cleared; he referenced a major riverbank cleanup that required a contractor to remove "30 plus tons of debris." "Even though we cannot arrest our way out of this problem, it is it does have a place at some point in time in this overall process," Gillespie said, while adding that enforcement must be paired with alternatives and services.

Downtown security and staffing: Staff said the CRA contracted an evening security guard (Tuesday through Sunday, generally 4 p.m.–9 p.m.) to augment police presence in the core downtown business district. Gillespie clarified the guard has no arrest powers but can call police when incidents occur. Council members and business owners said they see repeat trespassers who refuse to give names or IDs; business owners reported incidents of theft, harassment and discarded drug paraphernalia. One business owner said officers told her they could not complete a trespass if the person refused to identify themselves; the chief and other council members discussed options including private trespass notices and arrest for observable law violations.

Police staffing and resource limits: The chief said the department was short by about 20 sworn positions at the time of the meeting (seven supervisors and 13 officers) and emphasized that shifting resources into one corridor disperses problems to other neighborhoods. He urged that enforcement be paired with alternatives to reduce repeated calls. Councilmembers asked whether a dedicated local bus or a community‑run drop‑in shelter would make enforcement easier; police and the city attorney said alternatives reduce litigation and operational friction because officers can offer people options in lieu of criminal enforcement.

Ending: Council members asked staff and police to keep working with business owners on trespass procedures and to bring back information about security coverage, enforcement tools and how proposed shelter options would affect patrol workload.