SR-301-004-02 (9)
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CM:VR:mmm:VIVlan
CouncIl MeetIng: 2/28/84
Santa MonIca, CalIfornIa
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$5-2
FEB 2 8 _
MAR 1 3 1984
To:
Mayor and CIty CouncIl
From:
CIty Staff
Subject:
VarIOUS Approaches to the Problem of the Homeless
INTRODUCTION
ThIS
prOVIdes InformatIon requested by CouncIl on
report
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 In 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
other munICIpalItIes,
utIlized
by
are
InformatIon on lIghtIng of the Santa Monica parks and the
expenses Involved In IncreaSIng polIce foot patrols.
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MAR 1 3 1984
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FEB 2 8 1984
SURVEY OF ORDINANCES UTILIZED BY OTHER MUNICIPALITIES IN DEALING
WITH THE HOMELESS POPULATION
A survey was conducted In which several other cItIes provIded
InformatIon on the ordInances and practIces In place In handlIng
the homeless. The results are summarIzed below. Only ordInances
WhICh devIate from those used In Santa MonIca are hIghlIghted.
Los Angeles
Illegal to use a car fOf habItatIon WhICh IS parked on a
publIC street or publIC parkIng lot.
No lYIng down on a publIC bus bench.
Beverly HIlls
No overnIght parkIng on a publIC street.
Burbank
Parks closed from 11 p.m. to sunrIse (Santa MonIca: closed
ffiIdnIght-5 a.m.).
No alcoholIc beverages allowed In parks (Santa MonIca: no
drInkIng of alcoholIc beverages allowed In parks).
Inglewood
Parks closed dUfIng 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 sleeplng In publlc parks, facllltles or streets
No alcoholIC beverages allowed In parks.
Parks closed 10 p.m. sunrlse.
Santa Cruz
No sleepIng In publlC places.
No alcohollc beverages allowed In parks.
Torrance
No IOlterlng near lIquor stores.
THE CONSTRAINTS OF A LAW ENFORCEMENT APPROACH TO THE HOMELESS
One of the dllemmas 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 facllltles contalnlng
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 earllest In 5
years.
As a result of thIS overcrowdIng, the
maIntaIned prlmarlly 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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~f thIS
system 1S
approach
st1ll
were legally and const1tut1onally val1d, the
not equ1pped to handle ~ncreased arrests by
pol~ce departments for m1nor offenses.
C1ty staff, 1n rev1ew1ng the above ord1nances, feel that no
add1t1onal legal tools are needed locally to 1ncrease the arrests
of homeless persons. The Jud1cIal system does not offer an
effect1ve solut1on to the overall homeless problem.
PARK LIGHTING
V1rtually all maJor studIes of secur1ty llght1ng conclude that
the 1nstallat1on of eff1c1ent hIgh IntenSity lIghts apprecIably
reduces the occurrence of crime. StudIes gathered by PubllC
Technology, Inc. of Washington D. C. and those made by the
CalIfornIa CrIme PreventIon InstItute support thIS conclUSIon.
Good Ilght1ng can by Itself act as a psycholog1cal deterrent to
the 1nc1dence of crime and vandal1sm at public parks. The
CalIfornIa CrIme PreventIon Inst1tute encourages the 1nstallatIon
of eff1cIent securIty IIght1ng at all publ1C parks.
A range of securIty lIghtIng can be found 1n Santa Mon1ca park
faCIlItIes from no lIghts at Douglas Park to eff1clent h1gh
pressure sodium lIghts at Clover Park.
A January, 1983 staff report prOVided CounCil WIth detailed
Information on the status of IIght1ng 1n the varIOUS CIty Parks.
To reV1ew the 1ssue br1efly, It should be noted that the park
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lIghtIng standards followed by the General SerVIces Department
are those set by the IllumInatIon EngIneerIng SOCIety of North
AmerIca.
The
stand ard s
set the mInImum park footcandle
IllumInance levels at 0.5. Only Clover Park, VIrgInIa, Ozone and
Ashland Parks meet the mInImum standards.
The follOWIng parks have no securIty lIghtIng: Douglas, Los
Amlgos, Park DrIve, Schader and PaCIfIC Street. Of these, only
Douglas Park has reported problems WIth the homeless congregatIng
there.
PalIsades and LIncoln Parks are noted by General SerVIces as
haVIng mInImal 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 IS currently
scheduled for FY 1985 - 86.
APPROACH OF BURBANK POLICE DEPARTMENT
The Burbank PolIce 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 agenCIes, 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," has been runnIng successfully for over a year.
The Santa MonIca PolIce Department currently maIntaIns an
IndIgent 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 System" 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 ralses, health and dental Insurance, and other frlnge
benefits.
If additional officers were hlred 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 Rothsteln
Community Liaison
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