Ever since the city proposed building a one-stop homeless center off of North Main Street, neighborhood residents and homeless advocates have been at odds about the plan.
The controversy was exacerbated when the district's commissioner, Ed Braddy, requested the records for all Gainesville crimes involving the homeless.
His actions earned him disapproval from many local homeless advocates, including an official denouncement from the Rev. Milford Griner.
Braddy and some of his constituents have defended the move, saying it is important to know the facts.
"If the problems of downtown are going to be transmitted over here, we need to know," said Braddy, who is against the center's proposed location at 3335 N. Main Terrace.
Jon DeCarmine, executive director of the Office on Homelessness, said he thought looking at crime statistics was a step backward.
"Homelessness is not a criminal issue," DeCarmine said. "It's an economic issue."
A summary sheet of the report showed there were 3,832 crimes involving homeless people in Gainesville between January 2004 and February 2008.
It also stated that 1,226 homeless people in Gainesville have felony records, but was unclear about how this number was attained.
"Commissioner Braddy made this request to let us know if our fears are based in reality or not," said Susan Fairforest, who lives close to where the center would be built.
Fairforest said she could not pass judgment on the statistics without understanding their context, but she said she hopes to learn more at a meeting with Braddy on Monday.
Meanwhile, she said she thought both sides of the argument should appreciate having more information.
"How can any of us have a legitimate discussion if we don't have accurate figures?" she said. "I think Braddy is doing everyone a favor by getting these statistics."
It's not uncommon for homeless people to have criminal records, said Donna Lawson, executive director at Interfaith Hospitality Network, an organization that coordinates churches to shelter homeless families. But their crimes are often related to drug problems, mental illness or poverty - such as petty theft and bad checks.
"I think the big thing is to look at what these crimes are," Lawson said.
But neighborhood residents don't want to deal with any crimes at all, Fairforest said.
"If you lived in an area where non-violent crimes were being committed - like petty theft, drug sale, prostitution - would you feel comfortable?" she said.
Residents are also concerned about the homeless trespassing on private property and camping in nearby woods because the center will offer meals, showers and laundry facilities, but not overnight shelter.
Since the location of the proposed center has been announced, Fairforest said, the neighborhood has already had a problem with homeless people sleeping in vacant houses.
But finding an alternative spot for the center may not be any easier, since prominent locals have already spoken out against building the center downtown or in East Gainesville.
"No one wants it anywhere," Lawson said.
Advocates for the center plan to hold a rally outside city hall April 3, DeCarmine said, the same day the city will hold a hearing on the center's location.
Elizabeth Humberstone, a UF neuroscience senior, said she thought the neighborhood's concerns were not enough to stop the building of the center.
"I see where they're coming from, but I don't think it's enough to deny people shelter," she said.
But philosophy graduate student Jesse Butler said he identified with the neighborhood residents - he used to live two blocks from a homeless shelter in Knoxville, Tenn. and sometimes saw homeless people sleeping in the foyer of his apartment building.
"It made the neighborhood a little unpleasant at times," he said. "I can understand their views."
