The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted unanimously to support a motion insisting that the jail will not be used to hold homeless people who are jailed in enforcement of the anticamp ordinance.
The five-member board reiterated that approach, which district officials say has been put in place. The move comes days after Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered state agencies to clear homeless encampments in their jurisdictions and encouraged cities to do the same, citing the U.S. Supreme Court’s Grants Pass decision, which cleared the way for more enforcement of anticamping laws. aggressive.
“We’re not going to be in a race to the bottom,” said Supervisor Hilda Solis, co-author of the motion. “We will not back down. We will not use jail to arrest and criminalize people on the street.
Co-author Supervisor Lindsey Horvath slightly amended the original motion to clarify that it was meant to address how the district handles arrests “just for enforcing anticamping ordinances,” consistent with current district practices.
Anyone who endangers public safety or commits other crimes in the camp can still be arrested and jailed, he said.
“We are not saying that if there is a violent crime happening in the homeless encampment it is not an arrestable offense,” Horvath said. “We don’t say that. In fact, what we make clear is that we don’t criminalize poverty or homelessness.
During Tuesday’s meeting, which also included a broader discussion of the impact of the Grants Pass decision on the county, local officials repeatedly said they don’t believe arresting and jailing homeless people for living in encampments will reduce homelessness. .
“Criminalization is deliberately not part of the district framework because it makes the problem worse by creating more obstacles along the path of people to housing,” said Va. Lecia Adams Kellum, chief executive of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority.
Sheriff Robert Luna said the move is in line with the department’s current approach, where misdemeanors don’t typically result in jail time unless certain criteria are met.
“Being homeless is not a crime, and we will continue to focus on criminal behavior rather than individual status,” Luna said.
Several public speakers expressed support for the movement and for the county’s “care first” approach to homelessness.
“Being homeless shouldn’t be a crime,” said West Covina Mayor Brian Calderón Tabatabai. “We all need to be clear that we all have a responsibility to provide shelter to our homeless population.”
But some also expressed frustration with the pace of county efforts to move people out of camps and into temporary housing and said local communities need more resources to deal with the housing crisis.
“Obviously no one is advocating that members of the homeless community be placed in county jails. However, cities are overwhelmed by the needs of the homeless and the number of encampments in their communities,” said Bea Dieringer, president of the Los Angeles County Division of the League of California Cities . “They need the county’s help to increase shelters, services and other resources to meet critical community needs.”
The county this year has committed more than $120 million to the Pathway Home program, a partnership with Mayor Karen Bass’ Inside Safe housing and camp cleanup program.
Supervisors and some speakers also expressed concern that the governor’s order and Supreme Court decision could lead to challenging policies in the county’s 88 cities and unincorporated communities, where some cities could push homeless residents into neighboring communities.
The motion also directs the county to help lead town meetings “with the goal of mitigating the disparate impact of the Grants Pass decision across all jurisdictions in the County.”
“We don’t want LA County to be seen as rolling out a welcome mat for the nation’s unhoused population to come to Los Angeles,” Horvath said, “and there is also concern that we don’t want to diverge from the path we have. See what works.”