LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – Residents and apartment managers near UNLV continue their calls for crackdowns on homeless encampments, as police and local leaders offer solutions at a Wednesday night town hall.
FOX5 has reported on the tents, trash, fires and apartment break-ins from encampments around the University District, and ongoing concerns. Students, university employees, seniors and hospitality workers live in the many apartments around UNLV and the intersection of Flamingo Road and Maryland Parkway.
County Commission Chair Tick Segerblom asked Code Enforcement, Metro police, UNLV police and HELP of Southern Nevada to attend a meeting at the library and discuss ongoing efforts: how to get the unhoused to move — yet offer people help and services.
UNLV’s acting president was also on hand, offering support for the search for solutions.
“Sometimes we have significant numbers of homeless individuals spending time on the campus. We want to certainly be humane to them, but also continue to prioritize our educational mission,” said Officer in Charge Chris Heavey. “Occasionally we do have disruptions,” Heavey said.
“We’re going to try to take the neighborhood back,” Segerblom said. “We also just passed that law… So now we have the final tool in the tool chest, to be able to go into a neighborhood, make sure people are offered services, but if they won’t take them– then as I say, it’s off to jail,” he said.
UNLV police officers tell FOX5, they’ve worked closely with Metro police in recent weeks to clear crucial corridors like Escondido Street: social workers offer services and shelter, while officers continue to clear the area.
The new captain for Metro’s South Central Area Command, Captain Reyes, also told residents that he is listening closely to their concerns, taking notes, urging people to speak with officers, and working with other area commands to keep encampments from returning.
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