Officials address homeless people camping along LaCroix Trail

Editor's note: This article has been edited to correct information about the length of LaCroix trail.

Homeless people camping near Cape Girardeau's walking trail is an infrequent but steady issue being addressed by the city.

For example, the Cape Girardeau Police Department on Tuesday, Sept. 26, found an individual camping near the trail, and simply told him he could not camp there and he left the area.

Days earlier, Saturday, Sept. 23, the Cape Girardeau Fire Department responded to two illegal burning situations where homeless people were burning a small fire in a metal container. The fire department simply advised them of the city's burn ordinance and they complied.

"The activity was not believed to be nefarious," deputy fire chief Greg Hecht said, "but could be considered a nuisance by some."

Cape LaCroix Recreation Trail is approximately six miles long, beginning near Walden Park subdivision and ending at Shawnee Park. Along the way, there are several wooded areas, where homeless people have been known to pitch tents.

Recently, a Facebook post expressed a local woman's concerns that a man from a camp followed her on his bike and made her feel uncomfortable until she was able to make it to her car.

Cape Girardeau Police Department public information officer Bobby Newton said officers respond to the trail a couple of times a month on average for camping.

"We try to utilize our UTV as much as possible in order to patrol the trail as manpower allows," he said.

Newton said it's always a good idea for walkers and joggers to walk or run with a partner, especially in the early morning hours and at night. They should also let someone know where they are and when they plan to return.

"They should pay attention to their surroundings and report anything they see that may be suspicious to law enforcement," Newton said.

According to city ordinances, camping in parks is unlawful without a permit issued by the city parks superintendent. Cape Girardeau also has a curfew making it unlawful for people to enter or remain in the parks between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m., unless otherwise approved by the parks superintendent.

Nationally, it was estimated that 582,000 people were homeless in 2022, a number that's steadily gone up since 2018, but is significantly lower than the estimated 647,000 in 2007, according to data published by end- homelessness.org. Missouri is ranked 30th among all states in homeless population rates, at 9 people per 10,000 population, according to figures compiled by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau.

The issue of homeless encampments have become a national political talking point. In Missouri, a law passed last year made sleeping on state-owned land a misdemeanor, but it's been argued that homeless people exist, and they must sleep somewhere. Opponents of the criminality of camping on public property say policy should point homeless people to shelters, rather than send them to jail. In the case of the LaCroix Trail, the trail is on city property, although the path runs along the Cape Woods Conservation area, managed by the Missouri Department of Conservation. Camping in the conservation area is prohibited.