Crime & Safety

Sarasota Homeless Urged to Move on by Police

Sarasota Police are giving a group of homeless people warnings to move their tents and belongings, or officers will move them into storage.

Homeless residents camping in the 900 block of Florida Avenue are getting eviction notices in the form of written warnings from Sarasota police.

According to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, officers on Wednesday placed written warnings on tents and other belongings of homeless people camping there. The homeless people already were given verbal warnings, police said.

According to the Herald-Tribune, no arrests were made, though people were given five days to move their belongings. If they don't comply, police will do it for them, moving the items to storage, with the owner picking up the bill.

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Sarasota police said they have received more than two dozen complaints from people who live in the area or are taking their children to and from the Sarasota School of Arts and Sciences, which is nearby.

The city also recently cracked down on panhandling, passing an ordinance that bans any kind of solicitation to drivers by pedestrians, whether it is hawking a newspaper of asking for money.

Find out what's happening in Sarasotafor free with the latest updates from Patch.

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