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Extracted from Consolidated Report

This investigation was originally published as part of a larger consolidated report containing multiple investigations. View the consolidated PDF for the complete document.

Los Angeles County Grand Jury • 2016-2017

Police Ride-Along

Published: June 05, 2017 12 pages
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Findings 5 findings

F1 Page 182
Homelessness is an issue affecting virtually every community within the County. Unfortunately, there is a stigma associated with homelessness. In reality every homeless person has a unique story and set of circumstances associated with their situation. Police departments are aware of this situation and some have dedicated teams devoted to assisting the homeless population.
F2 Page 182
The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) is a joint powers authority of the City and the County of Los Angeles created to address the problems of homelessness in the County. On February 2, 2016, the County Board of Supervisors approved LAHSA’s County Homeless Initiative’s set of 47 comprehensive strategies to combat homelessness. These include First Responders Training (Strategy E.4) for law enforcement, fire departments, and paramedics throughout the County.
F3 Page 182
Some local police departments have specialized units that connect the homeless to local agencies offering supportive services. Examples include: Long Beach Police Department’s Quality of Life Unit; Pasadena Police Department’s Homeless Outreach Psychiatric Evaluation team; and Santa Monica Police Department’s Homeless Liaison Program.
F4 Page 182
Police officers are showing compassion for homeless people. They are coordinating with local social service providers and accommodating homeless people who create nuisance crimes in order to get cleaned up and receive a meal. As an example, during a detention visit to one police station, jurors were told of a particular homeless person who would periodically urinate in the lobby in order to get checked into the station. There were officers at other police stations that also stated they had certain homeless people that would check in on a regular basis.
F5 Page 182
Some city police departments may be unnecessarily weeding out ex-military personnel during the recruitment process. This is because some cities want to avoid the risk of these individuals being accused of having Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and incur undue legal damages. On the other hand, the CGJ was informed by leadership within the Sheriff’s Department their staff is comprised of approximately 25% ex-military personnel. It appears the mental health screening portion of the hiring process may be arbitrarily disqualifying otherwise qualified applicants. 2016-2017 LOS ANGELES COUNTY CIVIL GRAND JURY FINAL REPORT 161 VI

Recommendations 4