A recent Tucson Police Department operation billed as homeless outreach along the Loop near Speedway Boulevard and Interstate 10 led to the arrest of nearly 40 people, sparking criticism from advocates who say the city’s approach criminalizes homelessness rather than addressing its root causes.

But TPD says that because many of the cases were resolved on-site, the approach is actually a tool to reduce criminal justice costs and let people quickly resolve legal issues.

TPD collaborated with several agencies for the May 22 outreach effort, including Tucson City Court, City of Tucson Housing, Pima County Pretrial Services and Justice Services, Old Pueblo Community Services, Community Medical Services, Primavera Foundation and VA.

TPD said in a post on its Facebook page that the effort was built on weeks of outreach, calling it a "strategic operation that balanced proactive outreach with enforcement."

City of Tucson Housing staff secured 47 shelter beds ahead of the event for anyone needing immediate assistance, with seven people accepting transportation for services including including substance use treatment, crisis response, and housing or medical assistance.

Of the 66 people the department came into contact with during the event, 39 were arrested, with 15 court hearings held on site, including pre-trial cases involving 18 misdemeanor warrants and 11 video court hearings.

“The video court used during this deployment is a new initiative that allows individuals with outstanding warrants to resolve them on site,” TPD said in a statement to Tucson Spotlight. “This approach helped avoid the costs associated with jail bookings and gave individuals the opportunity to resolve their legal issues immediately.”

Mutual aid group Community Care criticized the approach, the police department, and the city, saying that the incident is “one of the most shocking examples in recent memory of the city’s harmful and counterproductive approach to homelessness.”

“Unfortunately, this kind of response has been going on for years: harassment, forced relocation, destruction of personal property, and arrest and incarceration. It’s not just cruel — it’s pointless,” Community Care said in a statement. “Research on the topic shows that these approaches make homelessness worse, merely pushing people from one place to the next, harming those who are targeted, and locking people into a cycle of poverty and incarceration for minor charges.”

The U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness reported last year that nearly one-third of the adult population in the U.S. has a criminal record and faces significant barriers to housing and jobs.

People who have been incarcerated are up to 13 times more likely to experience homelessness, and people without access to housing are more likely to be jailed simply for existing, the council said.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s June 2024 ruling that cities can enforce bans on public camping and sleeping, even if individuals have no alternative housing, could worsen the revolving door between homelessness and incarceration, according to the council, which has encouraged communities to invest in evidence-based solutions including housing and services.

“While city and nonprofit staff were reportedly involved in this operation, we only need to look at the numbers to understand that if this was an effort to provide services or care, it was a miserable failure — just a handful obtained support and 60% of those contacted were arrested,” Community Care said in the statement. “We are extremely concerned about future operations like this and the negative consequences they will create for all Tucsonans."

Community Care said outreach like this undermines the work mutual aid groups do throughout Tucson and only destroys trust among those who seek help.

TPD declined to comment further.

Colton Allder is a journalism major at the University of Arizona and Tucson Spotlight intern. Contact him at callder1995@arizona.edu.

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