SR-301-004-02 (5)
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CouncIl MeetIng: 2/28/84
Santa MonIca, CalIfornIa
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MAR 1 3 l!84
To:
Mayor and CIty Council
From:
City Staff
Subject:
VarIous Approaches to the Problem of the Homeless
INTRODUCTION
ThIS
report
provIdes InformatIon requested by Council on
approaches utIlIzed by other munIcIpalItIes In dealIng wIth the
homeless populatIon, brIefly reVIews the status of lIghtIng In
the CIty Parks, and estImates the costs Involved In IncreasIng
the current polIce foot patrol In selected areas of the CIty.
BACKGROUND
On November 22, 1984 CIty CouncIl requested a study seSSIon to
reVIew varIOus polIcIes WhICh could be consIdered 1n handlIng
homeless persons who are present In Santa MonIca. PreVIOUS staff
reports have descrIbed the nature of the homeless populatIon, the
natIonal character of the homeless problem, the patterns of
arrests of the homeless In Santa MonIca and the general practIce
of the local courts In releasIng those charged WIth mInor
offenses related to homelessness.
ThIS report wIll present
InformatIon on the polICIes of other polIce departments, local
ordInances
WhICh
are
utIlIzed
by
other munICIpalItIes,
InformatIon on lightIng of the Santa Monica parks and the
expenses Involved In IncreaSIng polIce foot patrols.
JI..,A
MAR t 3 1984
~S-2-
FED 28 1984
SURVEY OF ORDINANCES UTILIZED BY OTHER MUNICIPALITIES IN DEALING
WITH THE HOMELESS POPULATION
A survey was conducted 1n WhICh several other c1tles prov1ded
InformatIon on the ordInances and practIces In place In handlIng
the homeless. The results are summarIzed below. Only ord1nances
WhICh deVIate from those used In Santa MonIca are hlghl1ghted.
Los Angeles
Illegal to use a car for habItatIon Wh1Ch IS parked on a
public street or public parkIng lot.
No lYIng down on a publlC bus bench.
Beverly HIlls
No overnIght parkIng on a publIC street.
Burb ank
Parks closed from 11 p.m. to sunrIse (Santa MonIca: closed
mldnlght-5 a.m.).
No alcoholIc beverages allowed In parks (Santa MonIca: no
drInkIng of alcoholIC beverages allowed In parks).
Inglewood
Parks closed durIng nIghttIme hours
Manhattan Beach
Parks closed at nIght
PhoenIX ArIzona
No alcoholIC beverages In parks
No glass contaIners In parks ( Santa MonIca: prohIbIted only
on the beaches)
Parks can be closed for protectIon of publIC health.
No sleepIng In automobIles in speCIfIed areas.
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Santa Barbara
No sleepIng In publIC parks, faCIlItIes or streets
No alcoholIC beverages allowed In parks.
Parks closed 10 p.m. sunrIse.
Santa Cruz
No sleepIng In publIC places.
No alcoholIC beverages allowed In parks.
Torrance
No lOIterIng near lIquor stores.
THE CONSTRAINTS OF A LAW ENFORCEMENT APPROACH TO THE HOMELESS
One of the dIlemmas faCIng the JUdICIal system In Los Angeles
County IS the lack of bed space for prIsoners. At the end of the
past year there were 14,000 Inmates In JaIl faCIlItIes contaInIng
10,815 beds.
In 1982 the people of CalIfornIa approved a Jail funding
referendum. The $70,000,000 prOVIded to Los Angeles County must
be matched by $54,000,000 In County funds In order to prOVIde
1600 more beds. The faCilIty WIll be ready at the earliest In 5
years.
As a result of thIS overcrowdIng, the
maintaIned prImarily for those prisoners
Violence.
County's jails are
who are prone to
It has been suggested In some quarters that the answer to the
homeless situation IS a tougher law enforcement approach. Even
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If thIS approach were legally and constItutIonally val1d, the
system IS st1ll not eqUIpped to handle 1ncreased arrests by
polIce departments for mInor offenses.
C1ty staff, 1n rev1ew1ng the above ordInances, feel that no
add1tlonal legal tools are needed locally to Increase the arrests
of homeless persons. The Jud1clal system dOes not offer an
effectIve solutIon to the overall homeless problem.
PARK LIGHTING
VIrtually all major stud1es of securIty lIghtIng conclude that
the InstallatIon of effICIent hIgh IntensIty lIghts apprec1ably
reduces the occurrence of cr1me. StudIes gathered by PublIC
Technology, Inc. of WashIngton D. C. and those made by the
CalIforn1a CrIme PreventIon InstItute support thIS conclUSIon.
Good llght1ng can by Itself act as a psychologIcal deterrent to
the IncIdence of crIme and vandalIsm at publIC parks. The
CalIfornIa CrIme PreventIon InstItute encourages the InstallatIon
of effIcIent securIty lIght1ng at all publIC parks.
A range of secur1ty lIghtIng can be found In Santa MonIca park
faCIlItIes from no lIghts at Douglas Park to effIcient hIgh
pressure sodIum lights at Clover Park.
A January,
InformatIon
To reVIew
1983 staff report provIded CouncIl wIth detaIled
on the status of lIghtIng 1n the varIOUS CIty Parks.
the Issue brIefly, It should be noted that the park
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llght1ng standards followed by the General SerV1ces Department
are those set by the Illum1nat1on Eng1neer1ng Soc1ety of North
Amer1ca. The standards set the m1nimum park footcandle
Illuffi1nance levels at 0.5. Only Clover Park, V1rg1nIa, Ozone and
Ashland Parks meet the m1nImum standards.
The followIng parks have no secur1ty lIghtIng: Douglas, Los
Amlgos, Park DrIve, Schader and PacIfIc Street. Of these, only
Douglas Park has reported problems w1th the homeless congregatIng
there.
PalIsades and LIncoln Parks are noted by General ServIces as
haVIng w1nImal to IneffIcient securIty lIghtIng. Both parks
experience a concentratIon of homeless persons.
The lIghtIng of CIty parks IS seen as a prIorIty by CIty staff.
In FY 1983 - 84 the lIghtIng In PalIsades Park IS to be converted
to hIgher IntensIty IllumInatIon. SecurIty lIghtIng In LIncoln
Park wIll be proposed as a prIority In the FY 1984 - 85 capital
budget. LIghtIng for Douglas and MarIne Parks 1S currently
scheduled for FY 1985 - 86.
APPROACH OF BURBANK POLICE DEPARTMENT
The Burbank Pollce Department was the only surveyed agency that
had adopted polICIes and procedures that dIffered from all
others. That department has started an actIve program WhIch
Includes usage of the area's referral agenc1es, local emergency
funds for emergency food, and shelter, as well as an emergency
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gas fund for those travelIng through the CIty. The department
has also begun a unIque system, WhICh allows the homeless to
sleep in the JaIl overnIght. ThIS system, called the "Enroute
BookIng System,1I has been runnIng successfully for over a year.
The Santa MonIca Police Department currently maintaIns an
lndlgent fund for aIdIng famIlIes WIth emergency food and
shelter. SurroundIng agenCIes such as PacIfIC and West L.A.
DIVISIons of LAPD, Mallbu SherIff, Beverly HIlls, Culver City and
Inglewood do not maIntaIn such a fund. The El Segundo PolIce
Department IS the only other South Bay agency to maIntaIn an
emergency aId fund.
The "Enroute BookIng Systemll used In Burbank would be
InapproprIate In Santa MonIca where the local JaIl IS about 4
tImes as actIve as the JaIl In Burbank.
EXPANSION OF THE FOOT PATROL IN SELECTED AREAS
The WalkIng Beat Detail WhICh was Intended to Increase polIce
VISIbIlIty In chronIC problem areas has been found to be very
effectIve. Park supervisory personnel at LIncoln and PalIsades
Parks as well as local merchants and CItIzens have been very
receptIve to the presence of the patrol.
The costs In salarIes for maIntaInIng the current status of four
offIcers aSSIgned strIctly to foot patrol averages $208,000 per
year. ThIS fIgure Includes the InflatIon factor of contractual
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pay raIses, health and dental Insurance, and other frInge
benefIts.
If addItIonal offIcers were hIred to accomplish a full deployment
for selected areas, 7 days a week, the costs would be $480,000
per year for an addItIonal eIght person team.
PREPARED BY: James F. Keane
Police ChIef
VIVIan RothsteIn
CommunIty LIaIson
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