By Grant Lancaster
The Razorback Reporter
UA Police officers have evicted approximately 20 people who were living in a homeless camp on undeveloped UA property at 19th Street and School Avenue.
Officers removed 20 people and arrested four; there were no reported injuries during the operation, UAPD Capt. Gary Crain said.
This decision came after multiple serious crimes on the property in the last year, said Mark Rushing, associate vice chancellor of University Relations.
Fifty-two reports of crimes or arrests on the property were filed in 2018. Those included assault, battery, theft, arson, rape and drug charges, according to the UAPD Daily Crime Log.
“A small faction of the camping community out there made it an unsafe environment,” Rushing said.
One person was arrested on charges of trespassing on the property and another was arrested on charges of trespassing and possessing drug paraphernalia, Crain said.
Officers arrested a third person on charges that included trespassing, possessing a controlled substance, possessing drug paraphernalia and carrying counterfeit currency. The fourth was arrested on charges of public intoxication and possession of a controlled substance.
UAPD officers arrived at the property at approximately 6 a.m. Sept. 6 and began removing people and their belongings from the property, Rushing said.
Washington County Sheriff’s Deputies provided a van that could be used if a large number of people were arrested, Crain said. Deputies also were prepared to take action if a crime occurred outside of UA property.
Many of the dislocated people went to the 7hills Homeless Center, directly across 19th Street from the encampment.
During an Aug. 7 meeting at 7hills, UA administrators asked those living on the land to leave by Sept. 6, Rushing said.
Workers from UA Facilities Management cleared trash and underbrush from the property over the next week, Rushing said. UAPD officers can patrol the area more easily, Crain said.
Mike Jersey, who lived on the property for the last six months, thinks that UAPD officers did not give the campers enough time to find new places to live and move their belongings, he said.
Many of the people living on the property have mental illnesses, substance addictions or past felonies, which makes finding a permanent place to live extremely hard, Jersey said.
“They just need a little help. We just need a place where we can get housed right now,” Jersey said.
The CEO for 7hills, Jessica Andrews, hopes that the relocation will draw attention to the problem of homelessness in Northwest Arkansas, she said.
Andrews thinks that UA officials were helpful during the relocation process, but it is always hard for so many people to find new safe places to live, she said.
UAPD officers will continue to patrol the property to ensure none of the people come back, Crain said.