A strange thing happened on June 7th when I took a stroll down the Venice boardwalk. Homeless encampments, transients in various degrees of intoxication, and tents crammed together covered the length of the boardwalk. There was a woman screaming at herself, dragging a heavy chunk of metal by a strand of wire across the boardwalk. She then threw three bar stools at another homeless man who was standing several yards away, one by one, as if to emphasize a point only she understood. Not exactly enhancing the tourism industry in Venice that is struggling to stay afloat…

As the elected Sheriff providing safety to over ten million residents, I have been inundated with calls for action by residents from all over the County regarding our homeless crisis. Residents are frustrated with government failures to reduce homelessness and its impacts. Aside from the disastrous public safety and health effects, residents are fed up with the related rise in crime, and the takeover of many public spaces by homeless encampments. I wrote to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, urging them to declare a local state of emergency only to receive a letter from county counsel claiming to already have “robust” programs in place.