Los Angeles County opposes Newsom's executive order, won't arrest and jail people at encampments

Los Angeles County will not allow jails to be used for people arrested at outdoor encampments where they're living, with local leaders declaring their opposition to Gov. Gavin Newsom's recent executive order.

During a Tuesday County Board of Supervisors meeting, a motion was approved with a 5-0 vote prohibiting such use of jails and establishing a countywide strategy for dealing with the homelessness crisis. Law enforcement officials, advocates of people struggling with homelessness, social workers and public health officials all spoke at the meeting.

A consensus was reached on a "care-first" approach that offers people living inside tents on city streets shelter and other resources for survival rather than fines and arrests. Other concerns were the overcrowding of jails and the potential for cities to clash over enforcing anti-camping laws — potentially even pushing people struggling with homelessness into neighboring areas.

"Being homeless is not a crime and we will maintain our focus on criminal behavior rather than an individual's status," LA County Sheriff Robert Luna said during the meeting. "The governor's executive order, for example, will not alter the way our department approaches or manages the unhoused population."

Newsom's executive order

Newsom's order directs state agencies to remove encampments and other makeshift shelters on state property, albeit with 48-hour notice, while also calling on local authorities to do the same. It does not require that counties and cities do this but does mention $24 billion in funding given to local governments across the state, encouraging them to take action.

The order itself clearly states that counties and cities are now able to clear encampments, and to do so with the use of fines and arrests. A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision opened the way for enforcement of such laws against camping, or living, outside.

Newsom applauded the ruling at the time, saying that before it, there were "legal ambiguities that have tied the hands of local officials." The ruling stated that arresting, fining and jailing people found inside encampments was not a form of cruel and unusual punishment, and therefore, not a violation of the Eighth Amendment's protection against "cruel and unusual punishment." 

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass slammed the ruling. She worked with the governor on a state-funded effort to clean up areas alongside LA freeways where there have been encampments earlier this year. But she criticized his recent order.

County supervisors at Tuesday's meeting also expressed concerns over applying the governor's order to the 4,000-square mile county and the 42 cities contracted within it, these individual governments potentially disagreeing over whether to arrest people or carry out a "care-first" approach offering shelter. 

This could result in some cities pushing people arrested at encampments into neighboring areas, they said.

Anti-camping law enforcement

The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority told supervisors at the meeting that arresting and jailing people is not effective and inhumane. But County Supervisor Janice Hahn said some cities have been asking if they can do such enforcement.

Hahn said those local governments have felt "like their hands were tied in terms of what they can do" and now — with the recent high court decision and the governor's order — they can finally be free to enforce laws against sitting, sleeping or living outside.

"They're tired of seeing encampments when they go to work or take the kids to school," Hahn said. "But I think we're going to hear a lot today, and I know I can say it right now — that our jails are just not the appropriate place to put someone who's experiencing homelessness."

Hilda Solis, county supervisor representing the 1st District encompassing parts of east Los Angeles, said she was curious to know what Newsom and other leaders in Sacramento were motivated by in issuing the order as well as what their expectations are.

"For me, I know where my values are care first, jail last," Solis said. "It's been that way for a long time."

Solis and Hahn both asked the county's lawyers and homeless services agencies if state funding for the homelessness crisis could be threatened if they do not enforce laws against encampments. In particular, Hanh asked about a $51.5 million grant the state awarded to LA County, announced earlier this month as an effort to help people living in encampments along the 105 Freeway.

"Is that grant in jeopardy if we don't move quickly enough?" she asked.

The answer was no, the attorneys and county agencies said, as Newsom's order does not mandate the enforcement of anti-camping laws. The order does mention state funding as another reason cities and counties should be more proactive and consider enforcing such laws since they are now able to do so.

Solis said the announcement of Newsom's order spurred questions asking her and other county officials if they're changing direction and shifting away from their "care-first" policy of not arresting and jailing people found at encampments. 

"And nothing could be further from the truth," she said.

Temporary housing programs

The city and county of Los Angeles have launched efforts in recent years to clear people from outdoor encampments such as Pathway Home and Inside Safe, which clear collections of tents while moving people into temporary housing such as motels.

Critics say such programs are ineffective since people can end up living on the streets soon after, or even inhumane since they remove people from places where they choose to live. Meanwhile, supporters have said they are effective and are the reason that there's been some decline in the city and county's population of people struggling with homelessness and living unsheltered and outdoors.

That number went down for the first time in six years while the number of people struggling with homelessness but living indoors actually went up, according to LA's annual count of people struggling with homelessness. 

"We do not agree with criminalizing homelessness," Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority CEO Dr. Va Lecia Adams Kellum said at the time. "We believe in housing and services – not arrests."

Kellum also said the recent results of the annual count were evidence that such an approach works.

"We've been waiting for something to feel more hopeful about," she said. "And we're in this moment."