Chatham's newest homeless encampment has kept police very busy.
That's according to Kirk Earley, the Chief of the Chatham-Kent Police Service, who spoke at Monday's meeting on encampments.
He explained they've received over 140 calls since tents started popping up next to the Public Utilities Commission property on Grand Avenue East roughly two weeks ago. More than half came from concerned members of the public, while the rest came from police officers.
Earley said it got to the point they had to ask the public to stop calling 911 about the encampment unless it was an emergency.
"911 is for true emergencies, not how far (tents) are from your fence or there's a blanket on your fence," he explained.
Over the past two weeks, nine people have been arrested at the encampment. One was for a call related to mental health, while the other eight were for outstanding warrants. No arrests for trespassing or vandalism have been reported at this time.
While Earley sympathized with those near the encampment hoping for more to be done, he noted they can't stop everything and people living in tents have a legal right to do so.
"This is not something we're going to arrest our way out of," he added.
Earley went on to say that most people living at the encampment are very cooperative.
"A number of people living at the camps when speaking with our officers and are asked to do something or move they have listened, they have been compliant," he said.
Earley also took time at the meeting to say his police force is only a short-term solution for the encampment.