I had the pleasure of hearing the Alameda Police Captain speak at a Realtor event last month, but unfortunately, what I heard was very unpleasant. There are currently 88 officers in Alameda and 10 more spots need to be filled while 5 officers are on leave. We are losing officers faster than Alameda can hire them.
The job doesn't pay well, they don't get much respect, they're not liked by many and there's too much liability. If you think you've seen more homeless people in Alameda you are correct, but not by much, somewhere around 5% more than last year. What we're not seeing is homeless people getting arrested because their crimes have been downgraded from felonies to misdemeanors so they get ticketed instead.
The Captain said homeless people are made up of the following: people who have jobs but are unsheltered, some are mentally ill while some actually choose to be homeless as a lifestyle. Operation Dignity and Alameda Family Services provide help, but not all homeless people want to follow the rules set forth by shelters so they choose, to live an unsheltered life.
The police cannot arrest anyone simply because they have no shelter. In the case of Martin v. Boise, "As long as there is no option of sleeping indoors, the government cannot criminalize indigent, homeless people for sleeping outdoors, on public property, on the false premise they had a choice in the matter, "says the rulingby the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers nine western states including California.
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