A night-time homeless sweep earlier this month ended with 12 individuals being arrested and booked into the county jail at French Camp.
Another 12 were cited in the field.
It is part of an ongoing effort by Manteca Police to step up enforcement of quality of life laws in the aftermath of a Supreme Court ruling last summer that made it possible to do so.
The periodical sweeps of illegal camping is being done in conjunction with city efforts to steer homeless into the emergency shelter beds provided by the city and then into programs to help get them off the streets.
They are offered a bed first. If they decline, the homeless are then cited and forced to move on.
Those with outstanding warrants often have them because of failure to appear in court after being issued citations for illegal camping and such.
The 12 jailed have to make their own way back to Manteca if they chose to return.
Six of the misdemeanor citations issued in the field were for being in parks after hours.
The other six were for unlawful camping.
Being in parks after hours as well as unlawful camping applies to all people regardless of their shelter status.
The team doing the enforcement consisted of a sergeant, three community service officers, two police officers, a booking officer, and three support staff.
While conducting the sweep, officers were called to assist patrol with making a felony arrest unrelated to the operation
To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com