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# Letter: Bill Bauer on Santa Monica's transient population and street problems
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/101204-story-20041012/
- Published: 2004-10-12T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T05:17:01.000Z
- Author: Bill Bauer
- Tags: Opinion, Santa Monica, #archive-import, Homeless

There are 1,100 transients on our streets daily, according to the 1999 city census, drawn here by policies deliberately promulgated by the incumbents and their “Renters Rights” political machine.

Santa Monica has become a dirty, dangerous place. Our families live with a large number of transients who are outright criminals, mentally ill, alcoholic, drug-addicted and physically sick.

Many on our streets refuse services and are ignored. Despite spending more than $200 million — including police, para-medic and related costs — over two decades, problems just get worse. We must make a change.

I’ve listed “common sense” suggestions which could help those in need, discourage freeloaders and improve our quality of life: 1\. Goals and long-range planning must be implemented. Example: Reduce the number of “homeless” on our streets 25 percent by 2007\. 2\. Establish incentives to force the current in-bred network of city-supported providers to change, drop or add programs. Make services more effective, thus getting more people off the streets. 3\. Professional evaluations must be undertaken to determine appropriate courses of action for potential clients and ensure more positive results. 4\. Limit time-for-service eligibility. If clients don’t progress, drop them. Prevent re-entering services again and again. End enabling programs. 5\. Improve service quality to make them efficient and result-driven. 6\. Long-term Santa Monica residents must have priority over newcomers for services. 7\. Curtail public food handouts. Require health code compliance or prohibit free meal distribution in parks and commercial areas. Link food handouts to services. 8\. Accelerate law enforcement efforts for criminals. Discourage anti-social behavior and adopt a zero tolerance for street drunks and drug addicts. 9\. Encourage malingerers and those who refuse services to go elsewhere. 10\. Enforce the 1994 Public Safety Act, SMMC 2.69.010 (f), by decreasing expenditures for services whenever feasible.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 12, 2004.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/101204.pdf?ref=smdp.com)