Santa Clara County’s largest water agency can’t cite or arrest homeless people creating pollution or trespassing on its property — but the police unit it contracts with can.
It’s part of Valley Water’s Stream Stewardship Law Enforcement program, where San Jose Police Department officers from the street crimes unit go out to homeless encampments along Coyote Creek, Guadalupe River and other waterways every other week to serve warrants, write citations and make arrests. Since 2023, police have issued at least 120 citations and made more than 100 arrests under the program, according to SJPD data. Valley Water has spent more than $760,000 on the program since it first contracted with SJPD in 2019, a water agency spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said the program is meant to remove violent criminals from encampments. But multiple homeless people said police often harass them, taking their food and clothes in addition to citing and arresting them.
“I already feel like the whole world hates me,” Kyle, who asked for his last name not to be published for privacy reasons, told San José Spotlight. “(Police) come out here and they re-instill that.”
Kyle, 36, lives in the encampment near the future Cherry Avenue tiny home site. He said he’s been given numerous citations for trespassing and has been arrested multiple times. He said it’s been hard to recover from losing his mother to breast cancer, which he attributes to spiraling into homelessness.
“I wanted to hide from reality,” he said. “For the longest time I used the excuse that I couldn’t live without her.”
SJPD Deputy Chief Brandon Sanchez said at a Valley Water meeting in March arrests have been made for violations beyond trespassing.
“Anyone committing a crime in the city of San Jose can face enforcement action,” a SJPD spokesperson previously told San José Spotlight.
Valley Water spokesperson Matt Keller said police are free to ticket and arrest at their discretion.
“Valley Water is not a law enforcement agency and is not in a position to tell law enforcement agencies how to do their jobs,” Keller told San José Spotlight. “ If unsheltered people are committing crimes or creating public safety issues on Valley Water land, we would expect the police to act as they see fit.”
There are more than 700 homeless people living on Valley Water property — a number that has risen since the pandemic.
Last year, the agency implemented a policy prohibiting camping along the 333 miles of waterways it owns land rights to. Homeless people can be charged with an infraction or misdemeanor and face up to $500 fines if they’re caught camping there, a move advocates said criminalizes homelessness.
Valley Water developed an implementation plan to guide the policy: outreach and education first, then enforcement, which began Jan. 2. But the agency begun banning homeless encampments on its property before it secured nonprofit contracts for outreach.
Over the last three years, Valley Water has spent $8 million cleaning homeless camps and removed nearly 6 million pounds of trash and debris. Some workers have also faced attacks from homeless people while doing their jobs. The police patrols are meant to ensure the safety of Valley Water staff and the public along streams, Keller said.
“Valley Water also has an obligation to protect its field staff whose work is critical to meeting regulatory requirements and maintaining flood protection and water supply infrastructure,” Keller previously said.
In the meantime, Kyle is waiting for the Cherry Avenue tiny home site to open, slated for September.
He wants to get back into BMX bike racing, a sport he did before moving to San Jose to take care of his mother. Since her death, he’s struggled to find a job.
“I’ve been trying to make enough money to buy another bike,” he said.
Contact Joyce Chu at [email protected] or @joyce_speaks on X.
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