Recently I've been wondering what would be regular protocol for dealing with the homeless in LC. Usually I just shoo them away from particular areas, but I've been getting doubts about whether or not that's the right way to go about it. Would that be regular protocol for, say, NY or any other similar city, and what do you guys usually do to them?

I'll let the actual LEO's give an in depth view.

Here in Willits (Pop. 6000) we have a lot of homeless squatters that come down looking for jobs cultivating Marijuana (major source of income around here). Most of the time what happens is they stay around Safeway or Rays too long, and the bussiness calls the police. 2 PD units show up, and they tell the people to leave. If they don't, then the police arrest them for trespassing. Pretty simple.

For RP, I'd say arrest the first hobo and then wisk away the others.

Im not sure on a real Protocol for handling a certain subject such as a hobo, But I just usually stop them for loitering, Search them, if they got nothing on them, I just let them walk away, if they have something (of course) I arrest them, I cant really think of a certain way to handle them, Its mostly up to the officer dealing with the issue, good luck bud :thumbsup:

I often just ignore them. There are too many to deal with.

I often just ignore them. There are too many to deal with.

That is the sad and real truth in any large city.

No police department wants their system clogged up with homeless. If they are asleep in a public area they tend to get moved on is all. Use arrrest mode with batton to get them to stand up and pay attention, then cancel with no action taken. Then they will walk away.

Unless a city has a certain policy they would only be taken in and arrested if they are comitting a more general crime, other than loitering.

Sometimes they are more of a an asset strain on the parramedics who get called out to the ones who are passed out.

Like most of society I would think it's "unofficial" policy to pretend they are not there. There are just not the resources or manpower or any where to put them. Interesting to here what the real cops on this forum do though :)

I stop them and search them if I have the time/feel like it, especially if I notice anyone begging for money or are sleeping on the street. From time to time they commit GTA and lead us on pursuits, as well as being involved in some of the muggings and drug deals that happens daily in LC and Alderney.

GTA:V Five will focus on the current economic climate by the looks of things, and there's going to be a lot of homeless in that game if the trailer is anything to go by.

You could also just press alt+k if you want them to leave the area. I only frisk them when they are in a suspicous area.

I usually just shoo them away with an rpg with alt+k. There's so many homeless people on the streets that it is not practical to arrest all of them, and arresting just 1 would be unfair in most cases.

here is the simple way get out your pistol taser all of them, they run away.

That is the sad and real truth in any large city.

No police department wants their system clogged up with homeless. If they are asleep in a public area they tend to get moved on is all. Use arrrest mode with batton to get them to stand up and pay attention, then cancel with no action taken. Then they will walk away.

Unless a city has a certain policy they would only be taken in and arrested if they are comitting a more general crime, other than loitering.

Sometimes they are more of a an asset strain on the parramedics who get called out to the ones who are passed out.

Like most of society I would think it's "unofficial" policy to pretend they are not there. There are just not the resources or manpower or any where to put them. Interesting to here what the real cops on this forum do though :)

I just read the other day an interesting memo put out by the Portland Police Bureau regarding mental health issues, with a short history of mental health care in society. A large number, a majority most likely, of the transient populations within our societies have mental health issues. If you look back forty years ago when they started deinstitutionalizing people with mental health issues you'll find a large spike in transient populations. Most of today's homeless would probably have been put in a mental asylum up into the '60s. The money and concern just isn't there today so our society's mental health problems have largely been relegated to a criminal justice problem, especially when you factor in our drug laws.. those who would be looked at with concern and compassion in the past are now scorned for simply being addicts, which is only a symptom of the root mental health issue most homeless face.

From my own real world LEO perspective, I tend to go about it in a few different ways depending on the situation. Most of the time my call volume doesn't afford me the opportunity to help the homeless (yes, I said "help"). If it's slow in my zone, what I usually do is ask the homeless person if they would like a ride a homeless shelter or mental health facility, or hospital. Some take the ride because they know it might be a roof over their head for a night, while others generally want the help and are surprised that a sheriff's deputy would care to assist them. After spending enough time in my zone, I tend to get to know some of the homeless in my zone and I try to help them as much as I can.

Now, if there is a complaint that comes in from a citizen and I'm able to locate the complainant and take a statement, I can trespass them in certain situations. In some cases they have drugs and I can make an arrest, but like posters above have stated, we don't need the homeless clogging up our jails. For some of these people, going to jail is what they want to happen because they get a bed and 3 meals.

For a quick "protocol" type response, a homeless person is no different than any other person. If they are trespassing, then you handle them as you would any other person who is trespassing. Same if they have drugs, open alcohol containers, etc... The ultimate goal is to get them off the street permanently, so this is where I try to actually help these people when I can. On many occasions I have located necessary paperwork for some of the homeless in my zone to apply for jobs, food stamps, public aid, etc... I've been successful with a few people just in the past 6-8 months, and one actually left a message with one of our dispatchers for me to get back in contact with him. I did, and realized he has secured a decent job and now shares an apartment that he and other former homeless people have rented.

I'd like to think that my way of doing things will help more people than just simply making arrests. I've been able to help a few people that I know of, and hopefully they pass it along and essentially pay it forward. I'd rather run down to McDonalds and grab an application for the guy instead of spending an hour or two making the arrest, filling out the paperwork and the report, just to have him out the next day. :thumbsup:

Guys, guys: This is how you handle the homeless (I don't mean to offend anyone.... I just had to post my screenshot. Apologies for large size.

lol icon, I love your style ^_^ I usually gun them down with the Annihilator for fun, run them over, or snipe them from atop rooftops .... I'm a bit sadistic I guess.

I'm a bit sadistic I guess.

In Liberty City. Being "sadistic" means being a pacifist. So you're normal! :thumbsup:

I can say, in Central Florida (just like in Liberty City) there is a MASSIVE amount of people who are homeless, and attitudes towards them vary in each town/county. In Orlando, and in Orange County in general, they are for the most part treated as any other person, though I have witnessed a few who are begging for money at intersections being confronted by OCSO (Orange County Sheriff's Office). I would assume many here that are caught get themselves Baker Acted (sent to a psych ward) where they likely convince the doctors they are severely mentally ill just to have the roof and meals, as well as a free legal high.

In the smaller towns, like in Sanford, the people do not take very positively to the Homeless, as they are often seen as very rude, thieving (there is a bar I go up to from time to time there, there was a case where a Homeless man who frequented there had stolen some money after breaking in after hours, guy disappeared after that) and squatting at local businesses (which leads to the events that goes to the first perception). In some towns, especially what I noticed in Volusia County (where Daytona Beach is), there was a huge problem with bored teens often brutally attacking homeless folks, which in most cases lead to the death of the homeless. Essentially, it appears that the LEOs treat them as they would any other civilian.

What I do in LCPDFR is just treat them as anyone else, even if I pull them over driving a decent car (I guess something to consider in the future may be vehicle registrations to confirm car thefts, and to see if vehicle registrations are expired). Otherwise, ones on foot I usually don't do much with unless they're behaving strangely enough, or hostile enough to warrant me to do a frisk search, and things can go anywhere from there.

In real life unless they're causing a problem (begging people for money outside a shop, ATM etc) there's not much you can other than offer advice.