ESCAMBIA COUNTY, Fla. — A property management company in Escambia County says homeless people are becoming more aggressive toward their properties.
The sheriff’s office has received more than 50 calls regarding the issue within the past month, officials said. They now want to do something to protect their tenants and property.
One manager said his biggest concern was someone getting hurt on the property.
WEAR News spoke with Cameron Corey, who owns a shopping center on Mobile Highway. He says this has become more of an issue over time.
“From surveillance cameras to security teams to calling law enforcement to literally coming out here and doing it ourselves, we’re going to need some help,” Corey said.
Homeless people are a safety concern at the shopping center here off Mobile Highway, property management companies say.
“Tenants had barricaded themselves in their units and we had to come out and help remove the vagrants to prevent them from harming or injuring anyone. ” Corey says.
Corey is president of property management for NAI Pensacola Commercial Real Estate. He said homeless people were leaving behind trash, defecating outside stores and vandalizing shopping centres.
“The building was on fire,” Corey said. “It was gutted, unit by unit, from wall to ceiling.”
He said it would cost $400,000 and would not be covered by insurance. He said he called the sheriff’s office more than 50 times in the past month.
Corey says he wants the problems and aggressive behavior caused by homeless people to stop.
WEAR News has reached out to the sheriff’s office. Officials acknowledged they were aware of the issue.
Coley said the sheriff’s office sent out a surveillance van and stopped the aggressive behavior for several days. But now he says it’s happening again.
“This is a community issue, and it’s my issue, too: We all need to come together and do something,” Corey says. “That’s why our law enforcement, all of us, all of our county commissions, all of our city councils, we all have to come together and do something.”
Corey says he doesn’t know what the solution will be. But he hopes the community will work with other authorities to create solutions to help homeless people get the resources they need.
WEAR News reached out to Escambia County to learn about its efforts.
Officials told WEAR News that a public hearing will be held in December to adopt an ordinance that would ban public camping and lodging on public land in the county. They say they are active in connecting people to resources and organizations in the community.
