Police work to combat homeless population at Auburn park

AUBURN, Wash. – Police say they have plans to clean up the park some parents call a haven for the homeless.

In August, mother Amanda Wolf found a needle finger-deep in a Les Gove Park sandbox.

“You can get HIV, hepatitis, anything from this!’ Wolf exclaimed.

Auburn Police say needles aren’t a prevalent problem, but the growing homeless population has gained their attention.

“We've been having officers come in here at least three or four times a night,” Auburn Police Cmdr. Steve Stocker said Friday.

Within the park, there are outreach programs that feed the homeless, but they aren’t supposed to stick around.

“Oftentimes when you do come to this park, you see people who are having some rough times, but we don't have a high call ratio of police response here,” Daryl Faber, director the the Auburn Parks Department, explained.

But trespassing itself is a misdemeanor.

“We have a no-tolerance policy for that. So we have made quite a few arrests in the last six months for folks who are in here trespassing, in here urinating,” Stocker said.

The parks department and Auburn police have joined forces to increase the number of patrols, making rounds earlier in the morning, and adding bicycle officers who are able to explore deeper onto the campus.

“We have great evening patrols now where they're coming through here often. I think the steps are being made but it's going to take a process,” Faber said.

If you see sketchy behavior in the park, or if you find a needle like Amanda did, you're urged to call the Auburn Police Department.