ACLU of RI's statement on an executive order just issued by the Cranston’s Mayor that unilaterally giving the police department broad power to remove encampments. For many reasons, we think this is cruel, misguided, and ineffective:
"Just like the anti-homeless ordinance the Mayor recently proposed, and that members of the public
uniformly condemned at the last City Council Ordinance Committee meeting last week, the power
this executive order gives the police department to remove encampments is cruel, misguided, and
ineffective.
"Though it purports to rely on “contacting social services” before relocating people, the executive
order makes no note of how this would work in practice or whether social service agencies are
even in a position to provide necessary assistance. In addition, the immediate removal of a person’s
property if they refuse to cooperate with “any” offered services, no matter how insufficient,
unhelpful, or unsafe those services may be, raises additional serious concerns under the State’s
Homeless Bill of Rights.
"Further, the Mayor’s unilateral issuance of this executive order relies on City Charter provisions
that involve his duty to enforce the laws, not enact them on his own. His attempt to completely
bypass the City Council process is a dangerous misuse of executive authority. We will be
examining what actions affected individuals and groups may be able to take to address this
extremely troubling overstepping of executive powers and inhumane response to the plight of
people experiencing homelessness."
