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Police used the closure of the encampment at 150 Main St. as a blueprint to "de-campment," and a guideline to effectively and safely disassemble any encampment in the region.
The disclosure was made during today's Waterloo Regional Police Service's board meeting when staff sergeant Jay MacSween explained how police worked with partner agencies to remove an encampment from the parking lot at the region's public health and social services office in Galt.
"Over the course of four months, WRPS worked with partner agencies to successfully de-camp both locations, giving you the time, size and scope of these interagency cooperations," McSween said.
The WRPS staff sergeant detailed the timeline from the camp's inception at 55 Kerr St. in the summer of 2022 and the eventual closure of the camp at 150 Main St. in August 2023.
When the camp was reported closed, police and the region said the residents living there were offered other housing alternatives and most of them took those opportunities and left without incident.
It was later discovered the majority of those living at 150 Main St. moved to Soper Park and were eventually evicted by the City of Cambridge and CN Rail in September 2023.
Police note in their report that with the increase in the local shelter population and the number of encampments in the region, WRPS has seen a corresponding impact on neighbouring residential and commercial areas.
"It's important for clarification, that there is not always a direct correlation between the location of a shelter and an encampment on nearby calls for service. As
community safety, both real and perceived, for residents is affected, police receive additional calls for service," said the report.
In 2023, 150 Main St. had 9,113 calls for service, the second highest in the region and the camp was only active until August of that year.
In comparison, in 2020, before the camp opened, police received over 11,000 calls for service in the area.
The report also detailed that officers have responded to more calls around shelters and encampments than ever before, spending over 17,887 hours responding to these calls.
"WRPS takes a holistic approach to homelessness and addiction that incorporates the rights, needs, and dignity of those we are serving while upholding public safety," MacSween said.
"WRPS continually reviews the evolving role of police in the supportive model for individuals experiencing homelessness and addiction."
The Region of Waterloo has reported that chronic homelessness in the region has increased 129 per cent since January 2020 with a growth rate of 28 per cent year over year.
In 2023, police responded to 10,006 occurrences around shelters and encampments up from 7,784 in 2022.
The increase in individuals living unhoused combined with the disproportionately high rate of substance use among those experiencing homelessness prompted the police board to commission the report examining the complex issues of homelessness and addiction in the region from a public safety perspective.
MacSween added that WRPS members are often required to move individuals and uphold local government direction without a long-term plan for permanent housing or supportive programs. Like in the case of the Soper Park eviction where police served as a presence to help move individuals and prevent any conflict.
"Many citizens and community agencies are calling for a reassessment of the role of police when dealing with this massive social challenge," MacSween said.
He noted that while the region continues to search for housing alternatives for those living unhoused, this puts police in a situation where they are unable to help those who are on the streets.
Going forward, WRPS will look to non-police partners who possess expertise in these fields to expand their roles in frontline response and emergency service for those experiencing homelessness and addiction.
In Cambridge, some of these partners are the Cambridge Shelter Corporation, the City of Cambridge, Community Living Cambridge and Langs.
