knife | Newton MA News and Politics BlogMultiple people have reported on Village14, Reddit and UniversalHub that they have called police complaining about the disruptions caused by the homeless encampments along the Charles River. Most of the complaints aren’t about illegal activity, but nuisances such as trash, smells or smoking.

The process, according to both State Police and a spokesman for the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) is that the police respond to complaints and if a person appears to be living along the river, that person is offered shelter or hospitalization. If they refuse, they’re cited for trespassing. Once the police have completed their job the DCR takes over.

“Once an encampment is located on DCR property, the agency cleans that area up,” DCR Spokesperson Bill Hickey said in an email. There are no records as to how many encampments have been removed.

Today, a person walking along the Watertown side of the river near the DCR property of Cannalonga Park noticed that one encampment had been cleaned up. This is the section of the river between Bridge and North Streets along Pleasant Street. She reports that the parking island was filled with trash until this week and commented that it now looks a lot better.

However, she also found significant remnants, including a knife (pictured).