Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Brevard mayor asks staff to study making certain downtown offenses misdemeanors; council cautions against criminalizing homelessness
Summary
The mayor asked council to direct staff to research updated local ordinances to make loitering, trespassing and public alcohol possession misdemeanors in downtown Brevard; councilors and the police chief agreed to study the idea while emphasizing the need to avoid criminalizing homelessness and to gather more information.
Mayor Moren Copelof asked the council June 1 to authorize staff to research whether Brevard should return certain local ordinances to criminal (misdemeanor) status so police have additional enforcement tools for downtown loitering, trespassing and public alcohol possession.
"There are several ordinances that if we updated these... it would give our police department the ability to deal with the situation in ways that they do not have right now," the mayor said, adding the proposal would go first to the public-safety committee and would require public hearings before any change.
Council members welcomed study of the idea but repeatedly cautioned against criminalizing people who are unhoused. "We do not want to criminalize homelessness," said Councilwoman Pamela Holder, while other councilors said they want better information about practical outcomes and how changes would affect vulnerable populations.
The Police Chief, speaking from the dais, said officers encounter behaviors that create community problems and recommended the city look into ordinance revisions so enforcement options are clearer. Several council members emphasized the need to pursue solutions beyond enforcement, including housing, mental-health and county coordination.
Next steps: Council asked staff and the police department to research model ordinances, enforcement impacts and equity implications and to present findings to the public-safety committee before any ordinance changes are proposed to the full council.
