Questions raised about Phoenix citing campers in ‘The Zone’ [Video]

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — As the U.S. Supreme Court took up whether being homeless is a crime, Arizona’s Family Investigates has learned the city of Phoenix is citing those camping in the zone.

The Supreme Court decision has big implications for Phoenix, which had stopped enforcing its camping ban as long as shelter beds weren’t available.

But Arizona’s Family Investigates found the city is directing the police department to issue citations to those sleeping on the street in “The Zone,” an area downtown with many homeless people.

According to the numbers provided by the city, about half of those citations are being dismissed by the City Prosecutor’s Office.

Video from “The Zone” from May 2022 shows how bad it got.

Advocates estimated that nearly a thousand people called it home back then. It’s a very different scene now. The vast majority of tents have disappeared. The city wants to keep it that way, and they’re …