CRIMINALIZATION OF HOMELESS IN LOS ANGELES
BY STUDENT
Over the years, homeless people in Los Angeles have been criminalized. As of 2017, over half of the homeless population in LA identified as either African American or Latinx. According to LA Times, there was a 31% increase in arrests of homeless people for minor offenses between 2011 and 2016. In fact, two-thirds of these arrest were black or latinx as reported by LA Times. They receive tickets for small infractions such as having their tents up after 6am, sitting on the sidewalk, or sleeping on public property. Government officials try to help by offering shelter beds but, there is a very long waiting list, shelters run out of beds, they arrive too late, or stay too long. If they do not get into one of the shelters, they are more likely to sleep on the streets and more likely to get a ticket.
This reminds me of a scene in the movie, Pursuit of Happyness, when Chris Gardner a homeless salesman played by Will Smith has to to pick his son up from daycare and has to rush over to the homeless shelter before the spots get filed. Unfortunately, they do not make it in time so Gardner takes his son to the train station and plays a game with his son to make him believe they must hide from the dinosaurs in a cave, which is actually the bathroom. This is where they sleep for the night. Many homeless people are able to relate to this scene because some of them have jobs that don’t pay enough that require long hours so, they cannot make it to the shelters. As a result, they sleep on public property but, are fined by LAPD.
The tickets are usually less than $100 but, after court fees are added, they can cost up to three hundred dollars which they obviously cannot afford. If those tickets do not get paid, they are arrested by LAPD. Tickets also keep the homeless in debt which affects their likelihood of them getting accepted into housing. Does ticketing homeless people really solve the problem?
While many people would agree that being homelessness is not a crime, locals are disgusted by how filthy they leave the area. Sometimes they leave contaminated needles and feces on the streets. Therefore, they call the police on the homeless but, this only makes the problem worse. As a result, cops do homeless “sweeps” which is when they take homeless people’s personal belongings into their possession such as bikes, phones, and wallets. Sometimes they go as far as throwing all their items away. Instead of limiting what LAPD takes, they enforce laws on how much property homeless people can leave on public property.
The city has tried to help with this ongoing issue of homelessness by introducing programs such as the Homeless Outreach and Proactive Engagement (HOPE) program and the Resources Engagement Services Enforcement Team (RESET) which, helps to reduce the amount of petty tickets. Many churches volunteer to give the homeless free daily meals but this act has been under attack by the government because they believe it encourages them to stay homeless. I
BY STUDENT
Over the years, homeless people in Los Angeles have been criminalized. As of 2017, over half of the homeless population in LA identified as either African American or Latinx. According to LA Times, there was a 31% increase in arrests of homeless people for minor offenses between 2011 and 2016. In fact, two-thirds of these arrest were black or latinx as reported by LA Times. They receive tickets for small infractions such as having their tents up after 6am, sitting on the sidewalk, or sleeping on public property. Government officials try to help by offering shelter beds but, there is a very long waiting list, shelters run out of beds, they arrive too late, or stay too long. If they do not get into one of the shelters, they are more likely to sleep on the streets and more likely to get a ticket.
This reminds me of a scene in the movie, Pursuit of Happyness, when Chris Gardner a homeless salesman played by Will Smith has to to pick his son up from daycare and has to rush over to the homeless shelter before the spots get filed. Unfortunately, they do not make it in time so Gardner takes his son to the train station and plays a game with his son to make him believe they must hide from the dinosaurs in a cave, which is actually the bathroom. This is where they sleep for the night. Many homeless people are able to relate to this scene because some of them have jobs that don’t pay enough that require long hours so, they cannot make it to the shelters. As a result, they sleep on public property but, are fined by LAPD.
The tickets are usually less than $100 but, after court fees are added, they can cost up to three hundred dollars which they obviously cannot afford. If those tickets do not get paid, they are arrested by LAPD. Tickets also keep the homeless in debt which affects their likelihood of them getting accepted into housing. Does ticketing homeless people really solve the problem?
While many people would agree that being homelessness is not a crime, locals are disgusted by how filthy they leave the area. Sometimes they leave contaminated needles and feces on the streets. Therefore, they call the police on the homeless but, this only makes the problem worse. As a result, cops do homeless “sweeps” which is when they take homeless people’s personal belongings into their possession such as bikes, phones, and wallets. Sometimes they go as far as throwing all their items away. Instead of limiting what LAPD takes, they enforce laws on how much property homeless people can leave on public property.
The city has tried to help with this ongoing issue of homelessness by introducing programs such as the Homeless Outreach and Proactive Engagement (HOPE) program and the Resources Engagement Services Enforcement Team (RESET) which, helps to reduce the amount of petty tickets. Many churches volunteer to give the homeless free daily meals but this act has been under attack by the government because they believe it encourages them to stay homeless. I
strongly disagree with this opinion because my grandmother would go to food pantries every weekend and they would hand out stale food and the amount she received was very limited. Food is a necessity to live and they aren’t getting 5 star luxury meals either. Although these programs have helped, homelessness continues to rise in Los Angeles.
References
Angeles, DSA Los. "The Truth About Criminalization & Homelessness In Garcetti's LA."
YouTube. 12 June 2018. YouTube. 04 Mar. 2019 <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5U7rKAtuacU>
Holland, Gale. "Huge increase in arrests of homeless in L.A. - but mostly for minor offenses." Los Angeles Times. 04 Feb. 2018. Los Angeles Times. 04 Mar. 2019 <https://www.latimes.com/local/politics/la-me-homeless-arrests-20180204-story.html>.
Reyes, Emily Alpert, Dakota Smith, and Anh Do. "Advocates hail ruling that restricts criminalizing homeless sleeping; Garcetti sees 'not much' effect on L.A." Los Angeles Times. 05 Sept
. 2018. Los Angeles Times. 04 Mar. 2019 <https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-sleeping-ban-20180905-story.html>
Reyes, Emily Alpert, Dakota Smith, and Anh Do. "Advocates hail ruling that restricts criminalizing homeless sleeping; Garcetti sees 'not much' effect on L.A." Los Angeles Times. 05 Sept. 2018. Los Angeles Times. 04 Mar. 2019 <https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-sleeping-ban-20180905-story.html>
References
Angeles, DSA Los. "The Truth About Criminalization & Homelessness In Garcetti's LA."
YouTube. 12 June 2018. YouTube. 04 Mar. 2019 <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5U7rKAtuacU>
Holland, Gale. "Huge increase in arrests of homeless in L.A. - but mostly for minor offenses." Los Angeles Times. 04 Feb. 2018. Los Angeles Times. 04 Mar. 2019 <https://www.latimes.com/local/politics/la-me-homeless-arrests-20180204-story.html>.
Reyes, Emily Alpert, Dakota Smith, and Anh Do. "Advocates hail ruling that restricts criminalizing homeless sleeping; Garcetti sees 'not much' effect on L.A." Los Angeles Times. 05 Sept
. 2018. Los Angeles Times. 04 Mar. 2019 <https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-sleeping-ban-20180905-story.html>
Reyes, Emily Alpert, Dakota Smith, and Anh Do. "Advocates hail ruling that restricts criminalizing homeless sleeping; Garcetti sees 'not much' effect on L.A." Los Angeles Times. 05 Sept. 2018. Los Angeles Times. 04 Mar. 2019 <https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-sleeping-ban-20180905-story.html>
I strongly disagree with the government's claim that offering the homeless free food will encourage them to stay homeless. They're in this situation because they lack the resources to maintain a steady home. I also don't understand what the point of ticketing a homeless person is because how are they supposed to pay it if they struggle to afford daily necessities. If anything, it prolongs their struggle by pushing them further into the hole of not having any money to begin with.
ReplyDeleteI think it is insane to fine homeless people for sleeping on public property or having their tents up past a certain time. This just further perpetuates the cycle of homelessness. It is obvious that the people who are homeless cannot afford a place to stay, or a meal so it ridiculous for the Police department to fine them, knowing the chance is slim to none that they can even afford to pay the ticket. There needs to be more effective programs to help these individuals, instead of punishing them.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate that you decided to write about a topic such as homelessness, specifically the criminalization of people experiences homelessness, as they're experiences are often ignored. I liked how you referenced a movie that helps to illustrate the way in which people who are homeless have to continually and cautiously navigate public spaces in order to find somewhere to sleep while also avoiding the police. One thing that I think you should you should be more careful of is spreading the false and harmful narrative that depicts homeless people as being dirty or as being reckless drug users who don't properly dispose of used needles. Other than that, nice post.
ReplyDeleteI wrote this comment but I'm not sure why my name didn't show up...
DeleteAmazing work. This is a topic that needs to be discussed more often. It starts with the way the system is set up. The system is totally against these groups and it seems that they will do anything to lock them up or possibly kill them. We need a better support system for these groups. The facts you brought up definitely help us understand how cruel the system is. I also appreciated the movie reference as it gives us some background of the struggle some people have to face.
DeleteWith Los Angeles being a sanctuary city, it will be great to see a lot more being done to help the homeless who are mostly immigrants. More housing, food stamps etc. could be provided to help get these people of the streets. Watch how dramatically these percentages would decrease if measures are put into place.
ReplyDeleteBeing homeless for a week was an experience that I don't want to repeat in my life again, but the criminalization of people without a home is complicated topic to discuss since there's many factors involved in becoming homeless. Law enforcement targets homelessness because it's an easier threat to ensure especially in New York City. I love how your article explains the different ways the law is enforced on the homeless, it's not so different in New York City.
ReplyDelete