CSPD Homeless Outreach Team sees an increase in ‘chronically homeless’ individuals

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO)--The City of Colorado Springs is cleaning up more homeless camps this year, as police say the number of people experiencing chronic homelessness is on the rise. 

Last week, a clean-up operation near I-25 and Cimmarron had many people along the highway concerned. However, the homeless outreach team, known as the HOT team, said they keep going to these camp clean-ups every week in order to keep the city safe and clean.

However, just days later, a new homeless camp popped up with the same people officers had just cited. 

"It's a lot of these are the same people we deal with all the time. So this isn't their first time that they've been given a ticket and the area gets cleaned up because they've been through the process before," said Olav Chaney, Sergeant for the Colorado Springs Police Department Homeless Outreach Team.

Chaney said the most recent clean-up resulted in one arrest of a man who had a warrant.

"In this case, this is CDOT property, Colorado Department of Transportation. So they're trespassing. That's also typically an hour for them to vacate and get moving," said Chaney.

According to data from the HOT team, in 2022 396 people in Colorado Springs identified as chronically homeless. In 2023, that number jumped to 470. The HOT team is now working to calculate data for this year, but they said arrests are on the rise.

"Over 300 felony warrants last year from homicide warrants to sexual assault, two for assault warrants, first-degree motor vehicle theft, burglary, all the way to the little stuff," Chaney said.

"2200 misdemeanor warrants. We cleared that last year in the homeless community and a lot of those were camping-related," added Chaney.

Chaney said their goal is not only to clear up these campsites for the safety of the public but to help those people get out of the homeless cycle.

"They know the rescue mission is available when we do. And in this case, 235 bed spaces available last night at the rescue mission. It averages anywhere from 200 to 250 here recently. So there's plenty of resources for these folks. They choose not to take it," added Chaney.

The HOT team would also like to encourage the public to call authorities whenever they see a homeless campsite pop up in the city.