Three months ago, the Spokane City Council approved a new law backed by Mayor Lisa Brown outlawing the homeless from camping anywhere within city limits, though with numerous exceptions and an emphasis on outreach that opponents believed was toothless and would be ineffective.

Police Chief Kevin Hall acknowledged Monday at a City Council Public Safety committee meeting that the camping law has been difficult to enforce, with zero citations issued and zero accepted offers for social services when approached by police.

The law criminalizes camping citywide, but allows for an unspecified notice period and for someone to avoid a citation by leaving. While Hall said there have been citations for other offenses, such as drug use observed when officers made contact with someone, none had been i

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