Santa Barbara police officer John Kattai assisted City of Santa Barbara senior streets maintenance worker Eliseo Campos and his SWAP (Sheriff’s Work Alternative Program) crew on Saturday in cleaning up three illegal campsites.

Two of the encampments were located on city-owned property directly adjacent to the Casa Esperanza Homeless Center parking lot, on South Quarantina Street. The other was adjacent to the creek bed at the northeast corner of the intersection of Calle Cesar Chavez and the railroad tracks.

The Police Department has received complaints from both Casa Esperanza and businesses in the area during the past few weeks concerning illegal camping and related problems, such as drinking, defecation, urination, and dumping of garbage.

Before the cleanup effort, the campsite inhabitants had been warned and advised to remove all personal items. All remaining refuse was disposed of properly.

— Sgt. Riley Harwood is a public information officer for the Santa Barbara Police Department.