Winter Haven denies Florida attorney general's accusation of homeless takeover
Winter Haven responds to Florida AG's letter regarding the homeless
The City of Winter Haven fires back after Florida's Attorney General accuses it of violating a state law that bans public camping and sleeping. Fox 13's Carla Bayron reports.
WINTER HAVEN, Fla. - The City of Winter Haven is responding to the Florida Attorney General after he accused it of violating a state law that bans public camping and sleeping.
In their 38-page response letter released Friday, the city denies allowing public spaces to be taken over by the homeless.
The backstory:
During a news conference Monday in Polk County, Attorney General James Uthmeier addressed his notice to the City of Winter Haven released on January 6.
He accused the city of allowing certain public spaces to be taken over by the homeless, which is a violation of a state law, adopted in 2024, banning people from sleeping or camping in public spaces.
"Part of having a safe environment for families is you don't have people sleeping in parks where children might be playing. Where you don't have, people may be inebriated or suffering from mental health issues or dangerous, violent tendencies," Uthmeier said. "We don't want them near our kids."
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The Attorney General's Office received one complaint from a resident about violations at Kiwanis Park and the sidewalks along Winter Haven's Central Avenue.
What they're saying:
In its response letter, the city denies violating the state law and claims the complainant misunderstood the public camping and sleeping law.
According to the city, it's not illegal for someone to fall asleep in public, only if they sleep overnight or intend to sleep overnight, evidenced by blankets or a tent.
The city claims the majority of the pictures taken by the complainant are not proof the subjects intended to sleep or camp overnight, and some were taken on private property which goes beyond the police's ability to remove them.
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Lastly, based on The Florida Department of Children and Families statistics, the city says homelessness is on the decline in Winter Haven and its surrounding area.
The other side:
Uthmeier says his letter was a stern but polite call to enforce the law.
"At the end of the day, if we put laws on the books here in Florida, they mean nothing if we don't enforce them. We've seen examples of jurisdictions that haven't done the best job of this in the state. This certainly isn't an isolated issue in Florida, we'll engage in dialogue and hopefully bring them into compliance," said Uthmeier.
Winter Haven does not have a general homeless shelter in the city; the closest is in Lakeland.
FOX 13 asked the city of Winter Haven for an on-camera interview Tuesday, but received no response.
The Source: Information for this story came from the letter sent to the city of Winter Haven from the Florida Attorney General's office. The letter the City of Winter Haven sent back in response. As well as a press conference in which Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier took part on Monday in Winter Haven.