uncomfortable
Anyone with an ounce of humanity in their heart would agree it isn’t the homeless individuals for whom they have no compassion. Rather, they have no tolerance for the anti-social behavior the homeless exude, behavior that likely results from whatever landed them on the streets in the first place — be it mental illness, chemical dependency or an imbalanced cynicism toward the workings of society. Then there’s just the reality of living on the streets, a life where it’s less convenient to use a restroom or find a place to sleep that isn’t viewed as trespassing or loitering.
There are a whole litany of laws in Santa Monica designed to dissuade the homeless, yet they continue to wander our streets — urinating and defecating where they can, sleeping on sidewalks, drinking in public, smoking dope in parks, diving through dumpsters, panhandling on the Promenade and scaring passersby with sometimes violent threats.
All of that illegal behavior gives a bad name to the law-abiding homeless individuals trying to make it on the streets and, hopefully, eventually to self-sufficiency.
It’s a sad reality that the police can’t keep up with all the infractions. Police officers can’t make an arrest for misdemeanors without actually seeing the crime taking place. That’s why residents must take it upon themselves to assist police by making citizen’s arrests. When you see someone laying on a sidewalk, peeing in the alley or drinking in the park, call the police department’s dispatch line at (310) 458-8491.
If the powers-that-be at City Hall really wanted to adequately respond to residents’ No. 1 concern — the growing homeless population — they would make it as uncomfortable as possible for these individuals, forcing them to realize that seeking help from programs is the best option.
One former homeless person said in a LA Times article (Oct. 27, B1), referring to life on Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles, that when he was hassled enough the message finally got through.
“When it started getting really uncomfortable for me on the streets... I had to make a real hard decision on what I was going to do,” said Orlando Ward, now a spokesman for the Skid Row-based Midnight Mission.
The city of Santa Monica has no problem “disincentivizing” people from driving their cars by issuing tens of thousands of parking tickets a month. Or just maybe, it’s to load City Hall’s coffers. City Hall also collects a substantial amount of money through infractions by otherwise law-abiding citizens for everything from jaywalking to reckless bike riding. Those same people who “broke the law” most likely did it within feet of several individuals sleeping on the sidewalk or peeing in a nearby alley. The difference is they can pay the fine, the homeless can’t.
If City Hall put even a fraction of the energy, time and money behind enforcing laws designed to curb anti-social behavior that it does into parking enforcement, this city would be much cleaner, much friendlier.
Santa Monica Police Chief James T. Butts Jr. made it a priority early on in his tenure here to clean up Palisades Park, which was infested with drug dealers and other criminals. Police targeted the area, making arrests for parole violations and busting up drug operations on a daily basis. Today, the park is, for the most part, free from such activity and safe.
The Ventura City Council recently voted to pass an ordinance that outlaws sleeping in public places, making it a crime that could land sleepyheads in jail. The City Council is considering hiking the penalty from an infraction to a misdemeanor, which could mean jail time.
Elected leaders say they would use the new law as a tool to curb illegal camping, particularly in city parks. Translation: They want homeless individuals out of their city and this new law will do it. Sound familiar?
Under pressure from the business community, the Santa Monica City Council in 2002 passed two laws that were designed to dissuade homeless people from congregating downtown. Both of them — one preventing groups from handing out free food without a permit and the other prohibiting sleeping in doorways — did nothing to curb homelessness in Santa Monica.
There’s no point in passing laws that won’t or can’t be enforced. If the residents of Santa Monica rank the homeless population their No. 1 concern for at least three years in a row, based on a city survey, that should be enough of a mandate for the leaders and residents in this town to make it a priority to curb it.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 28, 2005. Read the original PDF.