Homeless Crisis in Sacramento

I’m Mike Hackard with Hackard Law. If you live in California, you’ll have noticed a problem that’s only been growing year after year in our towns and cities: homelessness. Here in Sacramento, journalist R.E. Graswich has confronted the issue head on and is taking the city’s political leadership to task. He writes:

“They ignored doorway sleepers and sidewalk encroachments. They declined to enforce rules about property crimes, open fires, drug sales, public drunkenness, prostitution, inoperable vehicles, health, safety and indecent behavior when homeless people were involved. Mayhem ensued. Of course it did.”

We all see the tent cities along our streets. The political authorities see it too. But they either don’t seem to care, or they actually enable it. Far from being an isolated phenomenon, homelessness is inextricably linked with mental illness, substance abuse, crime and overall social breakdown.

As Graswich goes on to point out, this disastrous policy is based on a misinterpretation of the law. A 2018 decision by the 9^th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Martin vs. Boise, stopped police in Boise, Idaho, from arresting people for sleeping on public property. Sacramento’s political leadership has ignored a critical footnote in that ruling: cities can restrict camping in public areas, and cities can remove people who refuse services or can afford shelter.

As we can see, a misreading of the law has led to greater crime and a public health crisis. Sacramento’s homeless population has increased from 2,700 eight years ago to 10,000 today. Graswich continues:

“As irresponsible as this sounds—what kind of civic leadership sanctions homelessness?—tolerance of street camps continued until Sacramento became a national disgrace.”

And does a society that prides itself on “progress” and proclaims its concern for the safety and well-being of its citizens act this way? I don’t have all the answers, but I commend R.E. Graswich for speaking out on what many of us feel: compassion does not translate to acceptance of lawlessness.