Sam Hoyle

Northwest Kern Neighborhood Reporter

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Bakersfield police, code enforcement officers, and outreach groups conducted a sweep of an unhoused encampment on the southern bank of the Kern River, following a two-day advance notice to residents in the area.

The operation is part of a routine effort by the Bakersfield Police Department to address encampments across the city, with locations prioritized based on calls for service.

"We try to come out here at least once a month to different locations on the riverbed, but it just depends on where we're getting a lot of calls for service and things of that nature," Sgt. Danni Melendez said.

City code enforcement is required to give 48 hours' notice before police arrive, giving unhoused individuals time to prepare and connect with available resources. Those resources include emergency shelter, drug treatment, and medical care.

"We also have Flood Ministries come out typically, and they'll offer them housing, beds, services, things like that, along with other assistance groups, and so they'll give them the opportunity to get the help that they need prior to our arrival," Officer Curtis Kniffin said.

While arrests and citations can occur during operations like this, Kniffin said that is not the department's primary goal.

"I like to kind of ask questions on why they're out there, what — kind of what got them into this situation, and what we can do to help them, and then that kind of provides me a segue to go into offering services," said Kniffin. "We don't want to just come out, take them to jail, and that be the end of it. We want to get them back on their feet and help them out is the ultimate goal."

After the sweep, code enforcement and cleanup crews cleared the encampment and collected salvageable personal items left behind. Under state law, those items are tagged, stored, and available for retrieval for up to 60 days.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

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