Indio PD finding homeless encampments on CV Link
Athena Jreij
INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) — Indio PD say they’re running routine check-ins on the CV Link, as homeless encampments, trash and debris accumulate on the pathway.
In a post to Facebook, officers say a ‘zero-tolerance’ approach was taken with resources given to unhoused individuals.
Officers who cleared 7 encampments in the last week, say most are found under bridges where the shade is.
“We’ve been seeing the unhoused underneath the bridges for years, so it’s nothing new. However, with the CV Link, it has given a lot of unhoused another way of getting from point A to B,” Sgt. Abe Plata with the Indio Police Department said.
News Channel 3 took a ride-along with officials to the most troubled sites, which include several bridges that run along the pathway in Indio.
“The problems we see are mainly underneath the Golf center Parkway bridge, the Jackson Street Bridge, the Monroe Bridge, and sometimes over at Fred Waring and Miles Avenue bridge,” Plata said.
While the most recent Point In Time count found Indio had a population of 51 unsheltered and 458 sheltered people, Plata believes a new trend is growing the city’s homeless population – outside law enforcement booking arrests in the Indio jail.
“They book them to get them out of their city and resolve the problem right there, but then that brings the problem to Indio because then they get released from the jail and end up in our city.”
Plata says when they leave the jail, many without transportation just stay in the city, with some living under bridges.
While Indio PD and other law enforcement agencies provide mental health and substance abuse services, Plata says most people don’t accept the help.
“It’s probably 1 to 2% that actually take the help.”
He says that resistance is also leading encampments to reappear quicker, within hours, days or weeks.
News Channel 3 reached out to CVAG for more information on their policy about encampments.
CVAG officials said in a statement:
“The cities have procedures and resources to respond to encampment activities, and CVAG has been coordinating with them to ensure when encampments occur on the CV Link that the cities can respond accordingly.”
Stick with News Channel 3 as we continue to follow this story.