More San Diego police officers will be focused on helping the homeless community

The San Diego Police Department is renewing their commitment to not only strategically assisting people who are experiencing homelessness but also ensuring streets are clean and safe for residents.

“When you look at our most recent political map, the number two issue to San Diegans was homelessness and issues related to it, so we need to be at the forefront because, if not, it’s just going to continue to get worse,” Capt. Steve Shebloski with SDPD told NBC 7.

Shebloski oversees the department’s Neighborhood Policing Division. It was created in 2018 by the now-Police Chief Scott Wahl to navigate some of the city’s most vulnerable residents. The division boasted 85 officers in its prime and is climbing back to that level with nearly 80 now. 

“When you look at the past four to five years, just in policing, it’s been a difficult time,” Shebloski said.

He explained that during the pandemic, and for the following year, officers were reallocated, in part, due to staffing shortages. However, he said he’s motivated to work with Wahl to build the division back up. 

One of the ways the department is doing that is by sending new officers to the Neighborhood Policing Division for three months, “so they can learn the ins and the outs of how to interact with members of the homeless community,” Shebloski said. Ideally, each new round of officers will go to the division temporarily when joining the department. It is typically groups of 20 to 40 people.

“When we do that, we have officers that are patient, more trained and just better equipped to deal with that challenge because it’s not something that’s typically solved overnight,” he added. “Our goal is to have every police officer know how to interact with homeless folks and find a solution for them.”

The Homeless Outreach Team, also referred to as HOT, is also part of the division. Shebloski said Wahl doubled the number of officers on the team. They don’t wear full uniforms and often drive in a van, rather than a patrol car, in an effort to break down barriers and gain trust to connect people with shelters and other resources. 

“I think trust is something that’s built over time, and I think when we have conversation with people, whether they’re members of the homeless community or not, that’s how we build it,” he said.

Despite the education and connection goal of the officers, there is also a progressive enforcement component to the division.

“The reality is when you look at our overdose deaths in the county, they have steadily risen with the rising population of homeless. We have a drug problem within the homeless community and that is something we need to address," Shebloski said.

Paul Armstrong, the chief of staff for the San Diego Rescue Mission, told NBC 7 he is thankful for the new chief’s directive to increase resources to help people in need effectively.

“We’re seeing the best successes when we have collaborative, coordinated efforts,” Armstrong said.

He shared the sentiment that trying something is better than doing nothing, even though officers are likely going to be met with “some hesitancy" from people who haven’t had positive experiences with men and women in uniform.

“They really have consistently just wanted to help,” he said from his experience working with homeless outreach teams across the county. “If we really tackle this as a community, I really think we could make a difference.”