On Sept. 4, Stitt announced the launch of an initiative called Swift Action for Families Everywhere, or Operation SAFE. Over the next three weeks, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol and the Oklahoma Department of Transportation conducted sweeps of homeless encampments on state-owned property in Tulsa.
On Sept. 17, Stitt declared the sweep of Tulsa to be complete after 64 encampments were cleared and nearly two million pounds of “debris” were thrown away.
What exactly was disposed of was not disclosed in Stitt’s statement.
Megan Lambert, Legal Director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma, said the government does not have the authority to decide what is garbage and what is a person’s property.
“When the government is engaging in encampment sweeps, it's doing so with the knowledge that they are confiscating the property of people who are unhoused. Therefore, there is a presumption that the items that are confiscated are property of individuals,” Lambert said.
“Because this is not your typical city employee or program going about to address litter in a park or along a particular roadway, right? This is an encampment sweep intended to remove people who are unhoused.”
Lambert said encampment sweeps can violate a person’s constitutional rights — specifically their Fourteenth Amendment right to due process.
“Folks who are unhoused retain a property right in their personal belongings. Which means that in the context of encampment sweeps, the government cannot destroy the personal property of people who are unhoused without their consent unless it is abandoned or poses an immediate threat to someone's health or safety or unless it is contraband,” she said.
In a press release, Stitt said the Oklahoma Highway Patrol posted notices to vacate and cease occupation at the encampments ahead of the sweeps, noting their location near highway rights-of-way and beneath overpasses create safety hazards.
However, Lambert said if the government confiscates a person’s property from an encampment, it must be stored in a secure location for a reasonable amount of time before it is destroyed so a person can reclaim it if they weren’t present for the sweep.
Apart from concerns over rights violations, Homeless Alliance President and CEO Meghan Mueller said encampment sweeps may be counterintuitive when it comes to reducing homelessness in the long-run.
The Homeless Alliance provides shelter services and other resources to people experiencing homelessness in Oklahoma City — including helping them find permanent housing. But that can’t be done without certain documents.
“You have to have IDs. You have to have birth certificates. You have to have many of these critical documents to get from point A to point B,” Mueller said.
“And if we are throwing away people's belongings, you could actually be slowing down the entire process. You could actually be delaying someone getting out of an encampment situation by months,” she said.
Stitt’s announcement for Operation SAFE outlined two options for unhoused people impacted by the sweeps — accept a ride to a homeless shelter or treatment facility, or accept a ride to jail.
Mueller said it’s not that simple, as there are not enough beds in shelters or treatment facilities to meet the current demand.
Additionally, any criminal charges a person incurs during an encampment sweep may create another barrier to housing.
“If someone were to pick up additional charges or fees and fines because of the criminalization of their living experience, that's another barrier as well,” she said.
“When landlords can be picky, something as minor as a misdemeanor could be a reason to deny someone acceptance into a permanent housing situation.”
While Stitt said Operation SAFE in Tulsa is over, the initiative may come to other communities across the state. Following the conclusion of the sweep in Tulsa, Oklahoma City Police Chief Ron Bacy made a statement acknowledging similar sweeps may happen in OKC.
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