Tips for business owners FRUSTRATED with transient activity

​Last Friday, Sgt. Jim Ridenour, head of Oceanside PD’s H.O.T. team (Homeless Outreach Team) spoke to members of the Oceanside Chamber regarding the transient activity here in Oceanside. This topic has been of great concern and regular discussion amongst members, and the Chamber felt it was necessary to hold a workshop informing business owners and community members alike about the current transient situation and offer some solutions. Sgt. Jim spoke about the causes behind the increase, the strides Oceanside PD’s H.O.T. team has taken to combat this issue, and recommendations for community members to follow that will reduce the number of transient run ins and help his team track the transient population’s whereabouts and hotspots.

Sgt. Jim informed the Chamber that the transient population here in Oceanside has grown at an alarming rate due to the significant amount of resources available for transient people. Our neighboring cities (Vista, Carlsbad, San Marcos, etc.) do not have the same resources Oceanside has, and therefore, transients are sent here in the hopes they will not go hungry or without a bed. Due to laws in the state of California, transients cannot be removed from residing in public area unless there is an available bed for them to sleep. Unfortunately, there are far from enough beds to house the entire transient population, giving them full access to public property. Sgt. Jim did mention, however, a Mental Health Facility would make a significant difference in decreasing the number of transients inhabiting the streets, moving them, instead, into the hands of professionals who can provide for them help they need.

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Sgt. Jim also went into detail regarding the transient population inhabiting the riverbeds. His H.O.T. team has experienced many setbacks regarding this issue due to different laws and regulations put in place years ago to protect the riverbeds. He has classified this group of transients as the “Will-Nots” or the group of transients choosing this lifestyle. He describes this group as criminal, yet resourceful as they have created for themselves a livable, sustainable community. This group rejects all help even when it is directly offered by the H.O.T. team. In an effort to keep the riverbeds clean, Sgt. Jim explained that his team makes frequent trips down into the riverbed and removes all transients and garbage from the area. Unfortunately, this leads to heavy increase in the number of transient sightings in downtown Oceanside. Eventually, the transients return to their riverbed community, and the process begins once again.
 
Since there is not a permanent solution yet for the transient population residing in the riverbed, Sgt. Jim recommends staying out of the riverbeds at night as they are loaded with traps. He says the bike and walking trails are safe, however, cautions patrons to only venture through those areas during daylight hours.
 
Although there are many moving pieces to completely resolving this issue, here are some tips Sgt. Jim recommended as a means to decrease the number of transient run ins here in Oceanside.    
 
Sgt. Jim recommended businesses in Oceanside:

• Hire a private security guard to watch over the property
  • Businesses in an area can split the cost to hire a security team to protect the entire center or shopping mall.
  • Some security teams are specifically trained and well equipped to handle transient activity.
    • Sgt. Jim said he can give recommendations for security companies if needed.
• Implement a security system
  • The locked doors at the Chamber offices have significantly decreased the amount of transient activity in our area.

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Best Western's succulent enhancement.

• Build structures, install lights or play music in areas transients often camp to prevent them from camping overnight. 
  • Businesses have added enhancements to their property to detract transients from camping there overnight. The Best Western, for instance, planted a succulent garden in an area frequented by transient campers which has succeeded in deterring transients from sleeping on their grounds.
  • The City of Oceanside installed lights and plays music in the tunnel detracting from its overnight coziness.

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• Call the non-emergency line
  • The H.O.T. team responds to ALL calls within an hour based on priority.
  • The team tracks the location of these calls and find trends where people are calling. Those areas are then regularly monitored for transient activity.
  • This helps them determine transient hotspots and areas that need more patrol.
  • If the H.O.T. team comes out to that business/area, have the employee or person who called the line sign for a citizen’s arrest.
    • They cannot physically arrest them, but they will ticket the transient individual, which will keep them away from that area as they do not want to deal with law enforcement.
    • They cannot arrest them due to impacted jails and certain laws for public vs. private property.

• Talk with other businesses in your area to make sure you are on the same page
  • If the entire area does not cater to transients, there will be less transient activity. For example, do not give transients food or water. They will keep coming back (and bring friends) knowing they have access to resources.
  • Continuously call the non-emergency line to show transient people they are not welcome.
  • Make sure other businesses are okay with signing for a citizen’s arrest.

 
Phone numbers to call:
 
Non-Emergency Line: (760) 435-4900
Sgt. Jim’s Desk Number: (760) 435-4552
Sgt. Jim’s Email: [email protected]