When police hold a press conference to explain why they obtained a search warrant for a wooden shack in an encampment, it tells us something about how far we’ve allowed the problem to drift. Officers in this city now feel the need to justify a routine investigative action, as though executing a lawful search is unusual or controversial. That is not policing as it should be. It is a symptom of a city that has allowed makeshift tent cities and wooden structures to become normalized, while insisting we pretend they are just another form of housing.

The case this week involved a structure built with wood, surrounded by debris, and being used as a shelter in an encampment. Police obtained a search warrant because they believed stolen property was inside. They arrested three people and seized i

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