More Police Punishing the Poor in the Pogonip

TUESDAY AT 3 PM--ANOTHER ATTACK ON THE POOR


Coming up at the afternoon session of City Council is another expansion of police power in the Parks and Recreation Department, using street repair and park maintenance money from the increased sales tax to increase the crackdown on the homeless.

Item #15, which could come up as early as 3:05 PM, describes itself as "Park, Open Space and Waterway Security Program Using Measure H Funds"

"Motion to direct the Director of Parks and Recreation and the Chief of Police to work with the City Manager to create the necessary positions needed to implement Parks Security Divisions in the Parks and Recreation and Police Departments."


The City of Santa Cruz's 1500-2000 homeless people have access to emergency shelter with a capacity of 160 people. The rules also exclude those who work during the day, have pets, have health problems, or who lack photo ID.

Police issue $90 camping tickets for those they target, without checking whether there is any legal place they can actually go (almost always there isn't). So they violate the Federal principles laid down by the 9th Circuit Court in the Jones decision banning police arrest of the L.A. Skidrow homeless at night. (The principle was "no shelter available = no arrests permitted").

Parks and Rec ranger John Wallace has gone further. The entire SCPD only issued, according to information released under a Public Records Act request, about 30 citations per month from April to Decermber of 2006. Wallace singlehandedly has issued more citations.

Further Wallace has directed Public Works teams to come in and destroy homeless property as "garbage", including usable tents, blankets, and sleeping bags, as well as personal property. A Federal judge in Fresno in the Kincaid case has found such behavior unconstitutional; a trial for damages now awaits city authorities who authorized or permitted these human rights abuses.
[http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2006/11/23/18332519.php]

Likewise in Santa Cruz, such behavior is unconstitutional, abusive, unworthy of a civilized community, and a resurgence of the War Against the Poor locally. It also threatenes homeless survival in winter. Witnesses have testified they observed Wallace's supervising workers who systematically and regularly gather and then slash homeless gear with knives and then toss the scraps into dumpsters.

MORE MONEY FOR THE VANDALS

Police chief Skerry, P & R czarina Shoemaker, and City Manager-for-Life Dick Wilson now propose an expansion of these vicious raids on those without shelter.

Though written before December 13th (see below), the "Security Program" report was only released to the public seventy-two hours before the Council meeting. The Good Times did its part with a scare story demonizing surival campers in the downtown area. [http://www.gtweekly.com/news/story.2007-01-03.6678368356]

As usual there are no crime statistics either with the Good Times article or with the Council request for more "Homeland Security" forces here against the "escalating" "illegal" activities. This mirrors the approach used by Bush nationally (more troops, whatever the cost) and by the Public Works Department last year in passing the Parking Garage Paranoia Law (which they call the Parking Garage Trespass Law).


COLLATERAL ATTACKS ON THE HOMELESS AND RESTRICTIONS ON PUBLIC SPACES:

Last year City Council voted to give Schumaker the power to drive the homeless from the city parking garage structures (and Parking Lot #9 across from the Elmo St. Mission feeding program) with their Parking Garage Trespass Law. This law makes it illegal to enter a parking garage unless you are parking a car or bicycle or picking one up and then allows you only 15 minutes to do so.

The fine could be anywhere from $100 to $200. With the new expedited "no warrants" "speedy civil collection process", a $300 fine will be added if the fines are not immediately paid.

Signs in parking lots ban "loitering" (without specifying the ridiculous 15 minutes alloted to paying customers to hustle out of their cars and out of the parking lot). The promised "free speech" exceptions that would allow people to leave flyers on cars, for instance, have not yet materialized.

OTHER AGGRANDIZEMENTS OF POWER BY SHOEMAKER:

Smoking (of cannabis or tobacco) has been banned from all city parks--without any meaningful public process or reasonable discussion (such as allotting smoking areas to addicted tobacco smokers, or considering the needs of homeless medical marijuana patients).

The Parks and Recreation Commission, although usually a rubberstamping body, has been cut out of a process which now allows Shoemaker to unilaterally close down any area policed by Wallace and his associates (i.e. "set closing hours"). This includes areas along Pacific Avenue and the City Council grounds themselves.

SCAPEGOATING THE HOMELESS MAY HAVE FINANCIAL CONSEQUENCES

Creating new enemies for suvival camping and then criminalizing them does not pass the "straight face" test. But apparently it's business-as-usual with the City Council. Instead of designating camping areas, the City is imperiling the health and safety of the poorest by creating more police power to drive them deeper into the greenbelts. Instead of creating "safe camper" programs and acknowledging the unmet needs of our homeless population, the Reilly-Coonerty Council is pursuing a gentrification agenda which also makes the city legally vulnerable under the Jones and Kincaid decisions.

COUNCIL'S DONE DEAL MAKES "WITHIN THE SYSTEM" OPPOSITION DIFFICULT.

Folks can, of course, call City Council at 420-5020 and demand that more funds for thuggery be put on hold (just as more funding for additional troops in Iraq needs to be stopped).

The measure is coming up at an afternoon session when most of the community can't easily attend. It's being advanced as an "administrative business" item, which limits the amount of public discussion allowed (3 minutes if you haven't talked on any other administrative item, 1 minute if you have). It's being put forward without meaningful public notice.

It seems pretty clear that Mayor "Smiley" Reilly is ready to rubberstamp another police empowerment measure without considering its impact on the poor.

It's becoming clear that a combination of direct action and legal attacks are probably the only effective resistance, though letting Rotkin, Robinson, Reilly, and the rest know how you feel (same phone number as above) isn't a bad idea.


NIMBY-POLICE VIGILANTE COLLUSION AGAINST THE POOR?

Particularly ominous in the staff report is the suggestion that neighbors should "team up" with the police in snitching on the poor as part of the war on "illegal activity" (using the Drug War, of course, as the scare justification).

Not only is the whole procedure cruel, costly, coarsening, and toxic for the poor--it is useless. Last year there were more busts for marijuana than during any prior year (and Santa Cruz's Sheriff Robbins and D.A. Bob Lee continue to arrest and harass, in spite of Proposition 215), but are less people smoking marijuana. Will homeless people stop sleeping and camping because the harassment increases? Or will they simply so less safely, more secretly, and more fearfully?

The Scotts Valley anti-camping law goes into effect January 20th. More people died homeless in 2006 in Santa Cruz County than in any previous year, according to the official count.

ENVIRONMENTAL EXCUSES FOR EXPANDED POLICE POWER LAUGHABLE

It's bitterly ironic that part of the justification for this measure is to protect the environment, when the city is refusing to put in 24-hour bathrooms downtown (and engaging in a costly upgrade of the Lighthouse Field bathroom while ignoring needs elsewhere in the city).

All the downtown portapotties have been removed including the portapotty at the Farmer's Market--the last of the 5 put in under the Krohn-Sugar-Fitzmaurice administrations. The urinal in the men's room of the daytime bathroom on Soquel Avenue across from New Leaf Market has been torn out.

The previously public bathroom in the Locust St. garage is due to be privatized to protect the sensibilities of Public Works parking garage workers.

RESIST TWO WARS--THE WAR IN IRAQ AND THE WAR ON THE POOR

Meanwhile the Council remains silent with nothing on its agenda regarding the proposed murderous "surge" of troops in Iraq.

HUFF (Homeless United for Friendship & Freedom) urges community members to join the Vigil Against Two Wars--the War on Iraq and the War Against the Poor. Camping out at federal buildings like the post office, Farr's office, the FBI office downtown--would be a visible protest that would send a strong message.

Contact 423-4833 if you want to support such a drive.



BELOW IS THE STAFF REPORT SUPPORTING THE $700,000 POLICING MEASURE PROPOSED FOR THE PARKS (The actual cost is unclear since the report, interestingly enough, does not give specifics)


On-line Staff Report

CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
DATE: December 13, 2006
 
AGENDA OF: January 9, 2007

DEPARTMENT: Parks and Recreation Department and Police Department

SUBJECT: Park, Open Space and Waterway Security Program Using Measure H Funds
 

RECOMMENDATION: That City Council direct the Director of Parks and Recreation and the Chief of Police to work with the City Manager to create the necessary positions needed to implement Parks Security Divisions in the Parks and Recreation and Police Departments.
  
BACKGROUND:  On Tuesday, November 7, 2006, Santa Cruz City residents approved Measure H.  This ballot measure made permanent the five-year 1⁄4 cent sales tax rate passed by voters in 2002 and added a new 1⁄4 cent sales tax rate.  The City Council, in conjunction with its placement of Measure H on the ballot, adopted a resolution stating that the City Council’s intent was that the City would use the additional revenue generated by the new 1⁄4 cent sales tax rate for street maintenance and repairs and City Park maintenance, supervision and public safety.
 
DISCUSSION:  Over the past few years the City has experienced increasing challenges with the condition of its parks, open space and waterways.  Existing City staff has tried to cope with the accumulation of garbage and camping debris and escalating illegal activities in the City’s parklands by combining Parks and Recreation and Police Department resources along with contractual labor to deal with the most egregious illegal campsites.
 
Illegal activities, including drug dealing and use, prostitution, illegal camping and garbage dumping are evident in the majority of the City’s parks, open spaces and waterways.  Not only do these activities pose public safety issues, they also present public health and environmental challenges.  In addition, the illegal activities also discourage law-abiding citizens from using the City facilities.
 
The problems described above have escalated over the last four years because of an actual increase in the amount of illegal activities as well as a decrease in security and maintenance staff.
 
The model of pairing the existing park ranger with a police officer was very effective in addressing some of the illegal activities over the past several months, but due to limited resources, the illegal activity just moved from one site to another.
 
Given the level of illegal activity in our parks, open space and waterways, staff recommends developing a staffing program that combines Park Rangers and Police Department Community Service Officers.  The Community Service Officers and their supervisor will be assigned full time to parks, open space and waterways, and will be focused on curtailing illegal activities specifically in neighborhood parks and the River Levee.  The Park Rangers and their supervisor will coordinate parks, open space and waterway cleanups, and provide some routine maintenance in the open space areas of the parks system.  The Rangers will also provide interpretive services and work with neighbors throughout the park system.  In addition to the CSO’s, Rangers and supervisors hired with Measure H funds, Parks Maintenance Workers will also be hired as well as purchasing necessary equipment and supplies.  Both units will work together to make our parks, open space and waterways safer and cleaner for all.
 
Recruitment for some of the positions will take months so it is staff’s intent to begin recruitment after the first of the year so that appointments can be made as soon as the funding becomes available.  Staff will return to City Council with a budget adjustment and a final staffing plan.
 
FISCAL IMPACT:  Measure H funding will become available in April.  The additional 1⁄4 cent will generate approximately $2.4 million per year of which approximately $700,000 will be available for parks, open space and waterway security and maintenance annually. 
 
 
Submitted by: Dannettee Shoemaker Director of Parks and Recreation


Approved by: Richard C. Wilson City Manager

Submitted by: Howard Skerry Chief of Police