According to an AZCentral article, Maricopa County has plans to shut down two shelter locations that house hundreds of homeless men and women each night. The first will close in April as a result of the building not meeting fire code, and the second, which is just a parking lot, may be reclaimed by its owner in June.
Where else will these 250+ people go, some of whom have criminal records, serious mental disabilities, and substance-abuse issues? Many will have no choice but to take up residence on the streets of nearby neighborhoods, which Phoenix police expect will lead to higher crime and vandalism. This article spells out the potential issues:
Without [the shelters], the homeless can create a number of problems for surrounding neighborhoods. “Everything from camping, people defecating, urinating, trash in the neighborhood, criminal damage, liquor violations, theft, quality-of-life-type crimes that affect a neighborhood,” [said Jeff Howell, Phoenix police downtown liaison officer].
Plan ahead to secure your property
Considering your security options now will allow you to pro-actively combat this situation from negatively impacting your office building, retail center, and neighborhood. Through the installation of security cameras and one-way audio, Centralized Vision technicians can actively monitor these locations to rid them of harmful vagrant activity.