Las Cruces PD swaps shopping carts for backpacks or wagons before ordinance enforcement

LAS CRUCES, N.M. (KFOX14/CBS4) — Las Cruces police want to give unhoused people the opportunity to trade in shopping carts for backpacks or wagons before they start enforcing the new Shopping Cart Ordinance.

On Thursday, Oct. 10 and Tuesday, Oct. 15, the Las Cruces Police Department will host a Shopping Cart Take-Back giving people the chance to turn in shopping carts in their possession without fearing consequences and possibly receive a donated backpack or wagon cart to put their belongings on.

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On both days, LCPD officers will be at the Community of Hope, located at 999 W. Amador Ave. and the parking lot at the shopping plaza located at 2200 E. Lohman Ave., collecting carts from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

KFOX14/CBS4 spoke with LCPD Lieutenant Joy Wiitala who further explained that once the shopping carts are collected, police will contact business owners so they can retrieve them.

Wiitala also said the department is “trying to be mindful” and is “thinking of the bigger picture” with this initiative, as– besides collecting shopping carts– the department will have officers and social workers educating the public and providing resources ahead of the enforcement of the ordinance which makes it illegal to possess a shopping cart belonging to a business.

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When asked what would happen if someone is caught with a shopping cart after those dates, Wiitala said she couldn’t provide an exact answer as it would depend on the officer and the situation.

“It might be an educational [opportunity], it might be connecting them with additional resources in order to exchange that cart, [or]… it could potentially be [a] criminal citation or an arrest,” Wiitala said.

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