Update: The meeting was canceled because not enough members of the commission attended. City staff said the meeting would be rescheduled.
The City of Reno’s Human Rights commission is scheduled on Thursday, Oct. 24 to recommend that the city “review and reconsider” enforcement of ordinances that criminalize homelessness. The city, along with Sparks and Washoe County, has enacted ordinances that allow jurisdictions to jail and cite people experiencing homelessness who are sleeping in vehicles or parks or, occupying public spaces.
Data provided to This Is Reno by the Fines and Fees Justice Center show that more than 650 people have been cited and referred to Reno Municipal Court’s Community Court. Only 61 individuals have successfully completed court requirements, according to the data.
“While the City of Reno’s Community Court is well-intentioned, the data provided by the Reno Municipal Court show that it is unfortunately extremely ineffective,” said Nick Shepack with the Fines and Fees Justice Center. “In fact, the vast majority of people cited to the court end up with warrants for their arrest. Over a single year, 669 people were cited to the Community Court and an astonishing 629 failure-to-appear warrants were issued. That is 629 predominantly unhoused citizens in Reno who face arrest if they come into contact with the police.”
Part of the concern, Shepack added, is that to participate in Community Court programs, those cited have to plead guilty or no contest to charges, resulting in a criminal record. Nearly 500 people cited did not attend their first court appearance, according to city data.
“There are many reasons why an unhoused person would miss a court appearance, including but not limited to a lack of transportation, the loss of the citation, difficulty keeping track of dates and times, hospitalization, mental health disorders, substance abuse and/or fear of the system and the government,” Shepack said. “The homeless ordinances are a clear path to jail.”
City data show that about a third of those cited missed one or more status check hearings and the court issued more than 600 failure-to-appear warrants. No fines were assessed to those at Community Court, and 92 people pleaded guilty while 10 pleaded no contest.
About 60 people successfully completed Community Court while 171 people did not complete the program. People have been cited for having open containers, possession of shopping carts, trespassing, camping on the Truckee River and camping in parks.
“As it stands, the existence of the Community Court does not justify the existence of the city’s homeless ordinances and is functioning, unfortunately, as an arrest warrant factory for the unhoused,” Shepack said.
The HRC meets at 5 p.m. in person and on Zoom. There will be presentations surrounding issues of homelessness from FFJC, Nevada Legal Services, the Children’s Advocacy Alliance, Nevada Housing Justice Alliance and Nevada Legal Aid. Following the presentations, the board is scheduled to vote on whether to ask the city to reconsider ordinances against those experiencing homelessness.
