MANCHESTER, N.H. (WCAX) – Manchester, New Hampshire, officials plan to enforce a homeless encampment ban following a recent Supreme Court ruling.
The Manchester Board of Aldermen passed an encampment ban on Tuesday. Under the new rules, police can remove people from the streets day or night regardless of emergency shelter availability. People found camping in the street or in public parks are also subject to a $250 fine.
But Manchester Mayor Jay Ruais says arresting people is not part of the plan and that the city has resources to help. “If you want help, and you need help in the City of Manchester, it exists. What we won’t tolerate is people breaking our laws or ignoring out ordinances,” he said. “It’s the enforcement mechanism that we have in place. This is not criminalizing it. Nobody’s going to jail as a result of this. This is the deterrence effect.”
The Supreme Court cleared the way last week for cities to enforce bans on homeless people sleeping outside in public, overturning a California appeals court ruling that found such laws amount to cruel and unusual punishment when shelter space is lacking.