Following a recent Supreme Court decision, officials in cities across California are considering more stringent measures on their local homeless populations.
The discussions may represent a paradigm shift in the state’s treatment of the homeless, as officials consider “tough love” measures for cleaning up the streets.
Compassion or Criminalization?
There has long been a debate within homeless policy about the balance between criminalization of the homeless and empathy and compassion for a struggling group.
Some may argue that they are one and the same. Harry Black, City Manager of Stockton, San Joaquin County, referred to more punitive measures as “tough love”.
California Homeless Boom
There has been a sharp recent rise in the homeless population in California, suggesting that urgent consideration must be taken of homeless policies.
In 2023, the homeless population sat at over 180,000, a 6% rise on the previous year.
Potential Solution
Advocates for the rights of the homeless have called for an alternative to criminalization, which may just clog up an already-struggling criminal justice system.
They suggest that the state can provide temporary accommodation and improved social services to help people transition into more permanent accommodation.
Lessons Not Learned
Homeless policy has been developed over decades, and interpretations of past efforts have led some to question whether lessons have been taken on board.
A senior California policy fellow at the National Alliance to End homelessness, Alex Visotzky, said, speaking to Bloomberg: “I think what we’re going to see is a lot of jurisdictions realize that they can’t enforce their way out of homelessness. Pushing them out is just a shell game.”
Recent Supreme Court Ruling
The Grants Pass v Johnson Supreme Court decision, taken on June 28, set a new precedent for the criminalization of sleeping outdoors.
The 6-3 ruling made the decision that penalties for outdoor sleeping do not violate the 8th Amendment, which contains a clause on “cruel and unusual punishment”.
LA County Mayor Excitement
There was delight from Mayor Rex Parris of Lancaster, LA County, who said that the Supreme Court had “finally made a good ruling”.
Lancaster can expect their mayor to move quickly on homeless policy. He told the New York Times that he is already “warming up the bulldozer”.
Path of Least Resistance
Some city leaders worry that they may become a magnet for the homeless populations of neighboring counties.
Black says: “These individuals are going to seek the path of least resistance. So we cannot be the least resistant path as a city.”
Race to the Bottom
Others worry that the ruling and following decisions by local leadership may spark a race to the bottom.
Advocates for the homeless are concerned that cities may compete to be comparatively more and more cruel to the homeless in order to dissuade them from setting up camp within their jurisdictions.
Public Cost of Criminalization
Some argue that the cost to criminalize may outweigh the benefits of reducing the homeless presence on the streets. LA’s Mayor, Karen Bass, says that the cities can not “arrest their way out of this problem.”
She says that it will not work, will not “save lives” and “is more expensive for taxpayers than actually solving the problem.”
