In Santa Monica — as in all of L.A. County — the old adage “commit the crime, do the time” doesn’t apply anymore.
Scofflaws and lawbreakers are receiving a “gold” pass from L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca, who oversees county jail facilities, to keep them out of jail.
Baca’s unwillingness to incarcerate even chronic misdemeanor lawbreakers has caused a crisis in law enforcement all over the county. Only felony suspects go to jail under current county policy. Other offenders walk free.
In the case of Santa Monica’s vagrants and transients, it explains the arrogance of some of our street people. They know they can act with impunity and tell both us and the police to “go f*** ourselves.”
Minor infractions of the law (misdemeanors) such as possession of an open alcohol container in public, possession of a “stolen” shopping cart, sleeping in closed public parks, public intoxication, public urination and even minor traffic violations usually result in a citation, or ticket, issued to the offender by a sworn police officer.
The citation requires payment of a nominal bail and promise of a court appearance. However, most transients blow off the citation because they neither post bail or appear. As a result, a bench warrant is issued and bail increases to $278 or more.
The warrant also notifies law enforcement that a person did not show in court and, if encountered, bail must be posted or the person can be held in jail until the next court (business) day to insure his/her court appearance. If a person has multiple warrants or has failed to appear previously, bails of $5,000, $10,000 or more may be required. But, it still doesn’t make any difference.
The L.A. County Jail system (Santa Monica’s jail is only a temporary lockup) will not take in persons with misdemeanor charges that have gone to warrant — no matter the amount of bail due or number of warrants issued. So drunks, trespassers or other violators can collect numerous citations, not pay them and never go to jail.
They stay on the streets knowing that they can keep doing whatever they want without penalty.
Compounding the problem is real or faked illnesses. Because of liability issues, jails will not take in a misdemeanor offenders who claim illness. Police officers routinely ask lawbreakers they encounter on the street if they have medical problems. If the person states he or she has a disease or medical condition, police usually cut them loose on the spot, even if they’re chronic offenders with warrants.
Misdemeanor lawbreakers avoid incarceration and never have their day in court. Consequently, they’re also excluded from governmental programs that might aid in their recovery.
Most transients suffer from mental and physical conditions as a result of their self-abuse. So, because access to help is severely curtailed, the downward spiral continues, unabated — and this is a tragedy.
Vagrants and misdemeanor lawbreakers all over Los Angeles County know that. “I have a medical condition” is an easy ticket to stay on the streets and avoid responsibility for their actions, as well as treatment options.
All of this applies to traffic scofflaws, too. Those who ignore traffic citations also are most likely to be unlicensed. Irresponsible and unconcerned about penalties, these drivers break the law until they cause an accident or are arrested for a felony. Then, their day of reckoning finally comes.
Our law and order system is breaking down and for this we should all be afraid. L.A. County is on the verge of anarchy and the County Board of Supervisors act as if everything is hunky-dory — which speaks volumes about how badly this county malfunctions While Sheriff Baca hosts “homeless summits” in downtown Los Angeles for show, his policies wreak havoc with law enforcement county-wide. Creative solutions to jail overcrowding and budget restrictions such as the “tent city” created by an Arizona sheriff to house nonviolent offenders is apparently beyond Baca’s grasp.
How about our own political leadership? I’m willing to bet that not one employee or politician (excluding police brass) in City Hall has demanded the county fund and reinstitute the means to make all lawbreakers and scofflaws accountable. In our war to end homelessness, this should be priority number one.
Bill Bauer is a 25-year Santa Monica resident and a freelance writer.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 11, 2002. Read the original PDF.