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Bartlesville Police Chief Tracy Roles addresses homelessness and upcoming events during the latest episode of Bartlesville Chief Chat.

Questions on homelessness were submitted by a listener prior to the show. Those questions are as follows:

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Q: Has the homeless population increased since you have arrived in Bartlesville? If so, what do you think is contributing to the rise in homelessness?

A: "We have not tracked the number of homeless people [in Bartlesville] now versus October 2018, but I do believe the homeless population has increased since I arrived in Bartlesville. I believe several factors come into play when any community sees a rise in its homeless population.

I think it is difficult or even impossible to pinpoint a single factor, however, I think it is important for a community to take an active stance in attempting to determine exactly what the driving factors are. I also think it is important for communities to provide real services to those in need to attempt to give them the tools needed to be successful if they are receptive to receiving those tools.

Cities are less successful when they choose to ignore homelessness or pretend that it doesn't exist in a certain community. I think [addressing homelessness] takes more than only the resources that city government can provide. I think it takes active participation from multiple entities within the community.

I'm certain that homelessness is not unique to Bartlesville. It happens in a lot of places. We are not unique in [homelessness]. It seems like homelessness has been on the rise in recent times in communities across the nation. That tells me that we as communities are not doing a good job of addressing real solutions for the issue."

Q: From a policing standpoint, what is your department's role when you see someone camping on public property? If this is not a police department issue, who do we direct our questions to about the homeless population?

A: "It is tricky in these type of situations because people have the right to occupy public spaces as long as they are no violating laws while occupying those spaces.

Homelessness is not a crime. We do have public nuisance laws that are there for several reason. As a police agency, we can make people move their homeless camp. However the difficulty comes with answering the question: 'Where do they move [the camp] to?' We can make someone move from 'Point A' to 'Point B', but is 'Point B' really a better place for a single homeless person or homeless people to camp than 'Point A'?

The argument can be made that someone can be arrested if they are breaking the law by camping in a certain area. We could, but what would that solve? We put that person in jail, but when they get out, they are still homeless with no place to go. Where will they go? Are we really helping the situation by arresting people for occupying spaces that they shouldn't occupy? I think that would be open for debate with several varying opinions.

The role of policing is far reaching in our society, and it seems to expand all the time. We must enforce the law and maintain the peace, but we must also reduce the fear of crime. Oftentimes that is what homelessness is: it increases the fear of crime; people see a homeless camp and they are fearful that crime may exist in that area.

It is up to the police to take an active role in regards to this issue. Homelessness is a policing issue; it is a code enforcement issue; it is a substance abuse issue; it is a mental health issue; it is a community issue. This issue will not be solved by a single entity. It will not be solved by the police department alone. It will not be solved by the City alone. It will take a group effort to come up with real strong solutions to give people the tools that they need to be more successful than they are today.

We are aware that homelessness exists in Bartlesville, but we have our role in this process that is not well-defined because it is ever changing. We as a community – as every other community – can do better as a whole, not relying solely on city governmental resources to make the problem go away."

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When it came to event, Chief Roles reminded the public to come on out and join them for the Bartlesville Police Department's (BPD) Block Party and BBQ Contest, which is scheduled to take place on Saturday, April 23. More information here.

While the 2nd Annual "Women's Self-Defense – Fight Back" course is packed, Chief Roles says women interested in the program can get on the waiting list. More here.

Lastly, Chief Roles reminds the public that the BPD's first-ever Youth Academy will take place this summer. He says they are currently taking applications for the program, which is set for July 6-8. More information here.

The next episode of Bartlesville Chief Chat will air on Thursday, May 26, at 8:30 a.m. on KWON AM 1400, FM 93.3, 95.1 FM and live on the Bartlesville Radio Facebook page.

Got questions? Submit them to garrett@bartlesvilleradio.com or tdroles@cityofbartlesville.org. You can also call in questions to 918.336.1400 or 1800.749.5936. Questions will be monitored on Facebook live during the program.

Video of the third episode of Bartlesville Chief Chat can be viewed below: