How a Federal Judge Keeps Los Angeles Homeless on the Streets
I have lived in Los Angeles for over 16 years now, during that time I have lived in various parts of the city and witnessed various levels of crime, homelessness, and drug use issues. I’ve been in my current residence for over 11 years now and nothing has ever been so bad here as the last 3 years.
I moved into my home in the summer of 2014, it was surrounded by a small gate just to offset the property from the street and protect the driveway but anyone could easily have stepped over it. It was only about 4 feet tall and had a walk-in gate that was easily opened. Around 2017 there started to be a little spike in homeless encampments and some unwanted activity so we had the gate raised by double and the walk-in was locked. Home invasion was never something I feared, just unwanted interactions and solicitations etc because anyone really could access the property at that time. Fast forward to September of 2025 and there have been over 101 break ins in this neighborhood since January of 2024.
In the blink of an eye everything changed. The George Floyd riots, which came right past our street. Police cars were burned just a few blocks away. All the haunting images of the LA “protest” that happened in 2020 were from our neighborhood. It was all downhill from there, the election of George Gascon was one of the most detrimental events in my history of living here. His soft on crime polices allowed people to loot and rob at will, imposing a paltry penalty for those stealing over $900 worth of goods, as if anyone was even counting. People did as they pleased, flash mobs popped up everywhere, and at the same time more and more homeless camps began to arrive.
By 2022 there were 48 tents lining the main thoroughfare of San Vicente Blvd in West Hollywood. The neighborhood that borders it, Beverly Grove, saw campers and tents on every major corner. These encampments along San Vicente were finally cleared in May of 2023 under a specific operation of the “Inside Safe” program which offers homeless people hotel and motel rooms. The street was later lined with chainlink fencing to prevent anything like that from happening again, however within the neighborhood camps still continue to thrive. Behind what was once a Big 5 Sporting Goods store on the corner of Wilshire Blvd and San Vicente is an ever evolving camp that spawns plenty of 911 calls from starting fires to animal abuse but these camps are never cleared.
The reason is that for decades, the city of Los Angeles has been tied up in federal lawsuits and operating under a legally binding consent decree overseen by US District Judge David O. Carter. These agreements limit what can be done about these encampments and occupants. For example:
- The LAPD cannot enter a tent without a warrant
- The city cannot dispose of individual’s belongings
In June of this year Judge Carter issued a new ruling that sets detailed rules for how to handle these cleanups, known as CARE and CARE+ – Comprehensive Cleaning and Rapid Engagement, as well as broader encampment procedures.
As I write this a brand new ruling has just been issued by Judge Carter, ordering oversight of LA’s homelessness efforts. I will attach a link at the bottom of this article.
Thanks to a brand new neighborhood council, elected earlier this year by residents who were fed up with previous policies that focused on bike lanes instead of problem solving, more pressure has been put on the City Council and LAPD to deal with the numerous safety issues in the area.
Basically all this to say nothing ever gets done and the camps remain. There are constant issues and never ending 911 calls about the various camps in the area. Some of them have grown so much in size they are more like tent cities at this point. Most unsettling is that no matter what they seem to do to the residents the police cannot do anything and residents are terrorized and terrified on a daily basis. Countless emails have been sent to the city, direct communication with the LAPD takes place, and the occupants have been offered housing and have declined it. Residents have been threatened and chased by the occupants of a particular encampment at the corner of Drexel Avenue and San Vicente Blvd. One resident was chased by a crowbar wielding man and other occupants have been seen riding bicycles around the neighborhood photographing homes, which of course raises serious safety concerns considering the already enormous amount of home invasions over the last year and a half.
They can not be made to move due to a ruling by Judge Carter that states that all encampments must be left and allowed until the City gets their act together with LAHSA – the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority. This is the lead agency coordinating federal, state, and local funds for homelessness programs in LA County. Needless to say billions of dollars have been squandered and unaccounted for so the city getting it together with LAHSA seems like a long shot. Just take one look at the abandoned tower buildings in downtown LA, now covered in graffiti and unfinished, that were supposed to provide housing. The encampment cannot be forcefully moved because the city fears a lawsuit from a tent full of homeless people more than the safety and security of its citizens. The LAPD reply was a recommendation to keep away from that corner and area. Everyone has basically thrown their hands in the air and effectively said, “not our problem”. The reality is this is everyone’s problem and there is a real fear that something terrible is going to happen, and may have to happen, for the city to start caring about cleaning all this up.
It goes on and on all across the city – https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/homeless-encampment-koreatown-manhattan-place/3778705/?_osource=SocialFlowTwt_LABrand
As mentioned there was just a new ruling sent down by Judge Carter today, Sept 16. Here is the link to read it: https://www.westsidecurrent.com/news/judge-orders-oversight-of-l-a-s-homelessness-efforts-taps-ron-galperin-as-monitor/article_6d1b92ab-89c4-4996-9092-d502ba906881.html?utm_source=westsidecurrent.com&utm_campaign=%2Fnews
I suspect not much will change and the city will continue to drag its feet on this issue because accountability has never been any recent leader in LA’s strong suit.
Thank you to my neighborhood watch group and all involved there for providing a wealth of information.
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