By Ron Yukelson San Luis Obispo
That Santa Monica has evolved from the “People’s Republic of Santa Monica” to the “Home of the Homeless” saddens me. The time is long overdue for our City Council to put out the “closed” sign to the area’s homeless.
Using the crime report in the Santa Monica Daily Press as one barometer — of the crimes listed during April and May, where the information was available, fully 19 of the 40 crimes listed made reference to the arrest of a “transient” (read homeless). This small snapshot reveals that nearly half (47.5 percent) the crime in Santa Monica (is committed by transients). It’s time for the City Counsel (sic) to invite the “transients” into their own homes so that the citizens of Santa Monica can enjoy a better quality of life.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 22, 2006. Read the original PDF.