In a damning 310-page report, Human Rights Watch has lambasted local officials and California Governor Gavin Newsom for perpetuating a cycle of criminalization and neglect that has exacerbated the homelessness crisis in Los Angeles. The organization, renowned for its exposés on human rights abuses worldwide, has turned its spotlight on the City of Angels, where the unhoused population has been subjected to a relentless campaign of arrests, citations, and property confiscations.
The report, titled “‘You Have to Move!’ The Cruel and Ineffective Criminalization of Unhoused People in Los Angeles,” presents a searing indictment of the city’s approach to homelessness, which it characterizes as a stark violation of international human rights law. By prioritizing the interests of wealthy property owners and business elites over the basic needs of the unhoused, Los Angeles has created a system that “effectively destroys lives and property based on race and economic class.”
Through a meticulous analysis of arrest records and camp cleanup data, Human Rights Watch reveals the shocking extent to which unhoused individuals have been disproportionately targeted by law enforcement. Despite comprising only 1% of the city’s population, they accounted for a staggering 38% of all citations and arrests between 2016 and 2022, with 20% of all felony arrests and 42.6% of all misdemeanor arrests.
The report excoriates Governor Newsom’s mental health initiatives, which it argues will only serve to further criminalize and marginalize the unhoused. By expanding the criteria for conservatorship to include people unable to provide for their own safety or medical care, Newsom’s policies threaten to ensnare even more vulnerable individuals in a cycle of coercion and control.
In response to the report’s findings, Mayor Karen Bass’s office remained silent, while Newsom’s office dismissed the criticism as a “blatant misrepresentation.” However, Human Rights Watch remains resolute in its call for a fundamental transformation of Los Angeles’ approach to homelessness, one that prioritizes the provision of adequate housing, social services, and community-based mental health care over punitive measures and criminalization.
Ultimately, the report concludes that the only viable solution to the homelessness crisis lies in recognizing the inherent human right to adequate housing, as enshrined in international law. By affirming this right and investing sufficient funds to realize it, Los Angeles can begin to dismantle the structures of oppression that have led to this crisis and build a more just and compassionate society for all.
