Following the Supreme Court’s ruling that local laws restricting sleeping or camping in public places may be enforced, the City of Long Beach has indicated that it will implement anti-camping laws if necessary.
Deputy City Manager Teresa Chandler wrote in an Aug. 12 memorandum that Long Beach will enforce anti-camping ordinances as an additional tool, noting that the fines alone will not solve or reduce the overall homeless population.
Chandler said the city will continue to lead with a “people-centered approach,” providing education and services to ensure that experiences of homelessness are brief.
The city will use enforcement, issuing tickets or making arrests, to address areas where there is a threat to public health or safety when other solutions have failed. This includes addressing encampments that block access to places like parks, libraries and beaches.
Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson said the goal is not to criminalize homelessness, but “this new capacity should be used as a tool to encourage more people to utilize the services we provide.”
“This is not a free pass to try to get us out of the homeless problem by mass arresting people, because that’s not really a solution,” Richardson said. He noted that enforcement of anti-camping ordinances should be used as a tool to encourage people to use the city’s shelters, permanent supportive housing, mental health services and other services.
The Long Beach Police Department should exercise restraint in enforcing anti-camping laws so officers can focus on criminal behavior at the camps and the chronic complaints about it.
Services and housing remain the city’s priority in addressing homelessness. “The city is investing and will continue to invest in proven long-term solutions, including meeting basic needs, providing supportive services, and providing immediate access to transitional and permanent housing,” Chandler wrote in the memo.
The Supreme Court’s June 28 ruling overturns previous legal precedent that held that enforcing ordinances restricting camping or sleeping in public spaces without first providing adequate, available shelter options violates the cruel and unusual punishment provision of the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
