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Police propose homeless outreach team and staff additions as homelessness-related calls climb
Summary
Police Chief Smith told council homelessness-related calls have risen 59% year over year and proposed a homeless outreach team — an officer, half-time county social worker and supervising sergeant — plus four additional patrol officers and a white-collar detective to reduce forced overtime and address fraud and narcotics activity.
Chief Smith told the council the police department is facing higher demand across multiple fronts and proposed a set of personnel and program investments intended to address homelessness, mental-health-related calls and specialty investigations.
Statistics and proposal: the chief said calls for service tied to homelessness rose from 552 in 2023 to 931 year-to-date this year, a 59% increase, and added: "Of the 931 calls for service, we took enforcement action on only 69 of these calls or 7%." He proposed a homeless outreach team modeled on the department’s behavioral health unit — one full-time Oshkosh police officer, half of a county social worker (county to fund the other half), and a supervising sergeant — to provide case management, outreach, and a downtown satellite presence.
Why it matters: Chief Smith said the outreach model channels people who want help into services while providing an enforcement backstop for repeat, high-frequency offenders; he said the parking enforcement revenue increase and philanthropic pledges (Community Foundation $125,000/year for three years) can help offset supervisory costs. The chief also asked for four patrol officers to reduce forced overtime and a detective focused on white-collar/fraud investigations. He said the city’s narcotics unit had made large seizures recently and that fraud cases have risen, leaving many investigations unstaffed without a dedicated detective.
Council discussion and funding options: council members broadly supported starting the outreach initiative quickly but sought clarity on phasing, funding and whether the sergeant’s cost must be in the base budget or an enhancement. Finance suggested some of the homeless outreach dollar could be offset by increased parking enforcement revenue; the chief and staff said they will work with finance on the funding structure and the council indicated support for moving forward with recruiting and planning.
What’s next: chief and city staff will refine cost estimates, recruitment timelines and options for phasing hires; council members requested further detail before final budget adoption.
