Atlantic Beach homeless camp cleared out after safety concerns raised

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Atlantic Beach homeless camp cleared out after safety concerns raised

Police are cracking down on homeless camps in Atlantic Beach after neighbors raised safety concerns.

The Atlantic Beach Police Department said it received a number of complaints this past year about camping and littering at Dutton Island Preserve.

This week the area was cleared out.

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Some Atlantic Beach residents said they are worried for the homeless people who don’t have anywhere else to go, but others are relieved and said they feel safer.

In the 12 years resident Andrew Clark has lived in Atlantic Beach, he said it’s gotten worse.

“A lot worse,” Clark said. “We never had any homeless problems until about three to four years ago.”

A problem that Clark said has gotten so bad that he is worried for the safety of his family.

“We’ve got a 12-year-old daughter, and she used to be able to play in the woods behind our house, but now we don’t let her by herself,” Clark said.

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He lives a few blocks away from Dutton Island Preserve on Atlantic Beach, and he said he calls police about it often.

“A couple of them ride around – they’ve got machetes hanging off their belt,” Clark said.

Because of the ******** camping, Atlantic Beach Police Department officers and the city’s public works department teamed up with the Sulzbacher Center and the JSO Blight Team to clean up the waste at the park.

Now, it’s almost empty – but some lingers – with some clothes and glass on the ground.

“We don’t want to look like California; we don’t want to look like Los Angeles, with these huge homeless encampments,” Jacksonville City Councilmember Rory Diamond said.

He represents the district and is happy police are enforcing the new state laws that prohibit people from sleeping on public property.

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“Just imagine, you’ve got little kids running around here and then they come across a homeless camp like this – it’s just not okay for a neighborhood,” Diamond said.

As for Clark, he said he’s worried the camps will return.

“They’re like coyotes,” Clark said. “You take where they’re going to hide, and they just move somewhere else.”

Officials said the new state laws require the homeless to move when directed by police, and if they do not, they could be arrested. Also, municipalities must offer a place to stay or could be sued by residents.

The Atlantic Beach Police Department said it has not issued citations for its side of the Dutton Island Preserve.

Police department officials said they hope more people can enjoy the park now that it’s cleaner.

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