Proposal seeking easier arrest of homeless will give police excessive authority over everyone, group says

City manager recommends Juneau Assembly table proposed changes to disorderly conduct code at Monday night meeting

Occupants of about 20 tents on Teal Street pack belongings as they are forced by city officials to leave on Tuesday, June 17, 2025. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Independent)

By Mark Sabbatini

Juneau Independent

Attempting to reduce disruptive behavior of people experiencing homelessness by changing Juneau’s disorderly conduct code is scheduled to be considered by the Assembly on Monday night. But concerns police will get excessive arrest authority over everyone are being raised.

The proposed changes would make it illegal to "stand, walk, or camp" in any "public path, public parking

lot, or public parking garage" intended for pedestrians, bicycles or vehicles. The Assembly’s Committee of the Whole voted 7-2 on July 14 to advance the proposal, with Juneau Police Chief Derek Bos stating the current code doesn’t necessarily allow probable cause arrests of people camping in such areas.

But the city’s Systemic Racism Review Committee, in an Aug. 12 memo to the Assembly, "strongly recommends" the proposed changes be rejected.

"Taking away the right to stand or walk on a public street would make it a crime for people to simply exist in the community," the memo states. "This expanded language invites discrimination and racism in its enforcement. The code as amended would most likely be enforced for specific populations and surely not be used to prevent, for instance, tourists from blocking public paths. The expanded language in this section would make the code impact more people for more activities in more places, creating an unnecessary need for more enforcement."

The committee also expressed opposition to the proposed removal of language "that provides verbal notice to the person before enforcement of the code."

"Citizens deserve, expect, and have the right to reasonable notice before a nonviolent act becomes an arrestable offense," the memo states. In addition, "it needs to be clarified who should provide notice: law enforcement, a member of the public, city staff? This is an important part of the process that needs to be unequivocally established in the code."

City Manager Katie Koester, noting the committee’s concerns, is requesting "this item be pulled from the agenda and tabled by the Assembly," according to the official meeting agenda. Public testimony is scheduled if the Assembly hears the proposal, but she noted people can still offer their input during the meeting’s regular public testimony periods at the beginning and end of the meeting if the item is removed from consideration.

The proposed changes to the disorderly conduct code are among the actions city leaders and other officials are implementing or considering due to an increase in reports of illegal activities of people experiencing homelessness in recent years.

The Assembly discontinued an officially sanctioned campground that existed two years ago due to rampant complaints of drug activity, violence and other problems. A "dispersed camping" policy in effect since last year also has resulted in widespread complaints, resulting in a change this year allowing the Juneau Police Department and/or other City and Borough of Juneau officials to dismantle homeless encampments after providing a 48-hour move notice.

But Assembly members on Aug. 4 deadlocked 4-4 on a request by the Glory Hall shelter and other social service agencies on Teal Street to establish a safety zone due to ongoing problems from large numbers of campers in the vicinity. The Glory Hall announced a few days later it will end day access to non-residents for meals and other services — with some exceptions for those with appointments — as of Aug. 26.

"The conditions around Teal Street have been deteriorating and it is not safe for our staff, patrons, volunteers, and neighbors," Kaia Quinto, the shelter’s executive director, wrote in an Aug. 11 email to people affiliated with the nonprofit agency that operates the facility. "Continuing assaults, lack of security and safety, clearly unlawful behaviors, criminal activity such as buying and selling of illegal drugs and related disputes, noise at night, and general chaos are the current prevailing norm around our facility, unparallel to any other area of town. The vicinity has become an epicenter for sales of illegal substances and stolen merchandise."

Quinto stated efforts are being made to work with The Salvation Army Juneau and other lunch programs to establish an alternative meal program. Also, she emphasized she hopes the change is temporary and day services can resume again by the time the city’s cold-weather emergency shelter is scheduled to open on Oct. 15.

"Laundry, showers, simply a place to be critical to our community," she wrote. "We need a JPD presence on site to provide safety and security support in and around the facility…It is very difficult to operate in the middle of the meth/opioid derivative epidemic and we are trying to do the best that we can."

• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306.