It has become a necessity for police to cite the homeless in order to break up encampments and clear them from tourist spots and downtown streets. But the ramped-up enforcement of Oahu’s “nuisance” ordinances also has generated an onslaught of misdemeanor cases that are clogging the courts, which need relief.

And that, in turn, has prompted the courts, prosecutor and public defender to push state lawmakers for a mobile court that would travel to community centers and shelters — places more accessible to our unsheltered population — to handle the overload. It’s a creative, cost-effective proposal that deserves legislators’ support because it would steer defendants toward community service and treatment rather than further strain the judicial system.

The concept is worth exploring, given the spike in citations for offenses such as trespassing, littering, sitting and lying on public sidewalks, urinating and defecating in public, camping in parks and carrying open liquor containers. The number of those types of citations increased by one-third to 14,680 from 11,203 between 2013 and 2015 on Oahu, with no signs of letting up.

Hawaii Public Defender Jack Tonaki said it can take several months before clients in need of help from his office can even get an appointment. And he states, compellingly, that the time his staff takes to focus on minor cases could be better spent on more serious offenses.

But more important, the “community court” would allow more options in sentencing that would give nonviolent, homeless offenders the help they sorely need. Senate Bill 2569 aims to “impose alternative sentences such as … mandatory participation in programs deemed appropriate for individual offenders based on their need for specific mental health services, substance abuse treatment, sustenance, and shelter.”

Indeed, these services are already available to homeless people through myriad programs and community outreach. But those in need often don’t enter into such programs on their own volition.

When a homeless defendant is issued a court-ordered mandate to complete substance abuse treatment, the result of not finishing the prescribed program could ultimately be time spent behind bars. In jail, there is usually no treatment program, and after being released, the homelessness cycle begins anew.

The mobile court aims to break the cycle. It also would address the most basic issues facing homeless defendants — the inability to get to a hearing. The Legal Aid Society of Hawaii said unsheltered defendants often lack the money to get to the courthouse, nor do they have proper identification to enter the building. When they don’t show up, it can trigger bench warrants and more fines, which further exacerbate the courts as well as their own downward spirals.

The bill states that prior to the mobile court hearings, the public defender and the prosecuting attorney would have already negotiated plea agreements for the defendants. That would create a process that is less time-consuming and allows more cases to be heard, chipping away at the growing backlog.

Under the bill, Oahu’s “community court outreach project” would be administered by the Judiciary starting July 1. It is expected to cost $612,610 in its first year, which sounds reasonable given that Hawaii has the highest homeless population per capita in the nation. The problem needs to be attacked from all possible vantage points.

Understandably, pushback is common when there’s talk of creating another bureaucracy layer. But in this case, it would be well worth it if homeless defendants gain better access to the courts, and to the court-ordered treatments and community engagement so needed to achieve normalcy.