More than two-dozen California cities passed, strengthened or are considering ordinances banning homeless camps, after a key Supreme Court ruling.
Tents in a homeless encampment line up against a fence in the Chinatown neighborhood just outside of downtown Fresno on Feb. 11, 2022. Photo by Larry Valenzuela for CalMattersMore than two-dozen California cities passed, strengthened or are considering ordinances that penalize people for sleeping outside, after the U.S. Supreme Court allowed cities to crack down.the green light to crack down on homeless encampments.
The trend toward criminalization marks a significant shift in how California manages the more than 120,000 people who sleep on its streets and sidewalks, and it could lead to more arrests, citations and fines. “A lot of communities, I think, rather than doing the hard work of providing housing and other services, are criminalizing homelessness and making it illegal for people to stand, sit, sleep or use anything like a blanket,” said Alex Visotzky, senior California policy fellow for the National Alliance to End Homelessness. “And these policies, of course, fail to reduce homelessness and also create additional barriers to housing people.
“We’re going to have zero tolerance,” Supervisor Tom Patti told CalMatters. “We’re going to have definitive enforcement.” Other cities are ramping up enforcement without changing the rules. The Folsom Police Department created a new homeless outreach team in July, which will enforce the city’s existing camping ban, Police Chief Rick Hillmanfiled by eight homeless residents over the city’s enforcement of its anti-camping ordinances.
Other cities, at least on paper, are taking a cautious approach by allowing law enforcement to cite and arrest homeless people — but only in specific situations.In July, the Palm Springs City Council banned camping on sidewalks and in parks and other public spaces — if shelter is available. The ban won’t go into effect until the city finishes construction of its new homeless shelter, which likely will be later this month.
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