As California readjusts it approach to homelessness in the wake of a June U.S. Supreme Court ruling, one city in the Southland is laying out its updated strategy, including the possible citing or arresting of homeless people.
On Monday, Long Beach Deputy City Manager Teresa Chandler sent a memo to high-level city officials detailing the changes brought on by the Johnson v. Grants Pass case, which allows local governments to enforce anti-camping and other laws on homelessness regardless of whether there are shelter beds available.
The ruling has prompted a shift in state politics, with Gov. Gavin Newsom threatening to withhold funding from local governments if encampments are not cleared.
In Long Beach, that means city officials will “focus intensified outreach, trust-building and offers of shelter and resources for those within the encampment,” the memo says.
If all other efforts fail, though, those who remain in an encampment could be ticketed or issued a citation.
“Though widespread issuance of citations or arrests solely for violations of the City’s anti-camping ordinance will do little to reduce overall rates of homelessness, and could create additional barriers for people to access housing and services, they also can be used as a tool to address locations where there is a threat to public health or safety and when other solutions are not working,” the memo says.
As reported by the Long Beach Post, possible targets include encampments that “block access to public amenities, take up inordinate amounts of space or host activities that raise ‘significant public health or safety concerns.'”
Chandler notes, however, that homeless is primarily driven by the high host of housing in the area, and while cleaning up an encampment might be a short-term fix, “citations or threat of citations may compel an individual to move, but it does not cause them to disappear or connect them to housing.”
Ultimately, she says, it could simply result in “the displacement of those residents into other areas of the City.”
“Widespread issuing of misdemeanor citations would only serve to move individuals around, put additional strain on police and City resources, and ultimately do little to reduce homelessness,” the memo says.
