California Homeless Arrests, Citations Spike After Ruling

One year after a Supreme Court ruling that made it easier for cities to criminalize homelessness, arrests and criminal penalties for sleeping outside are on the rise in many of California’s largest cities.

According to reporting by Marisa Kendall for CalMatters, an analysis found that arrests and citations for homelessness-related offenses rose by as much as 500 percent (in San Francisco) in the six months after the Grants Pass decision. In Los Angeles, arrests went up by 68 percent. In San Diego, arrests and citations doubled.

City officials say they don’t want to criminalize people but rather to help them get into housing and access services. However, homeless advocates say punitive measures often disrupt established communities and push people farther from service providers. “But shelter beds aren’t always available. Last year, California had more than 187,000 unhoused residents, and fewer than 76,000 year-round shelter and transitional housing beds, according to data compiled by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.”

The article notes that since the Grants Pass decision, at least 50 California cities and three counties have passed new ordinances targeted at unhoused residents.

Kendall points out that less visible homelessness doesn’t mean people have moved into housing. According to UCLA sociology professor Chris Herring, “Most people are just sleeping on cardboard or on the street and moving every night.”