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CJ 205 MOD 8 PROJECT 3

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CJ 205 MOD 8 PROJECT 3

Police Legitimacy and Public Trust

Issues of Public Trust

Policing activities in Skid Row raises significant issues of trust among homeless

individuals and residents/business owners. To the homeless, LAPD is cruel, destroys their

property, and criminalizes poverty through the anti-camping laws (Human Rights Watch, 2024).

They believe officers have no regard for their needs hence they have no trust in the ability of

LAPD to help them. On the other hand, residents and business owners perceive LAPD as

ineffective in maintaining public order because of the steady increase in crime, drug use, and

encampment. Their frustrations, especially because of the disruption of their businesses have

eroded confidence in the police.

Addressing Issues of Trust

LAPD should embrace procedural justice principles, which are voice, neutrality, respect,

and trustworthiness. Instead of meeting the residents and business owners only, they should give

an equal opportunity for all parties to share their experiences and perspectives, and ensure the

process is neutral, unbiased, transparent, and consistent to everyone. Furthermore, they should

treat all individuals, including the homeless with respect and honor their basic human rights.

LAPD should demonstrate trustworthiness and consider all inputs in decision-making.

Use of Discretion

The encounter of officer Hoakiko with a vagrant demonstrates that officers are applying

discretion sporadically when faced with the option of arresting homeless individuals. However,

there are many places where they can use discretion more judiciously. For instance, at the initial

contact with the homeless, officers can choose to assess their behavior, mental health, and
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immediate needs instead of rushing to enforce laws like loitering and open container violations.

They should also prioritize diversion and treatment over arrest for minor offenses, and use

discretion when handling the personal belongings of the homeless individuals to preserve their

dignity.

Public Opinion and Procedural Justice

Procedural justice can create a more positive public opinion about LAPD’s work with the

issues surrounding homeless by ensuring homeless individuals and the homeless feel heard and

considered in decision-making. Maintaining impartiality and handling all cases with respect for

dignity and basic human rights can also improve public opinion about officers (Tomlin et al.,

2023). Transparency can significantly help LAPD by ensuring the public understands the

reasoning behind their decisions and operations. It should openly communicate its goals,

policies, and outcomes related to homelessness to create a perception of honesty. Transparency

can also ensure police accountability to the public. For instance, reporting all police encounters

to the public can deter officers from using excessive force and violating the basic human rights

of the homeless. Technologies that can enhance transparency include body-worn cameras that

record police encounters, reporting interactions and outcomes on social media, and mobile

reporting systems.

Applying Community Policing Concepts and Principles

Principles of Community Policing

Examples of community policing principles include commitment to community

empowerment, immediate and long-term proactive problem solving, helping those with special

needs, and ethics, legality, responsibility, and trust. These principles aim at developing lasting

solutions to community challenges, such as the homeless issues experienced in Skid Row (Felix
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& Hilgers, 2020). For instance, the principles of community empowerment and helping those

with special needs may inform policies for improving the economic situation of the homeless to

ensure positive long-term outcomes. Ethics, legality, responsibility, and trust emphasize the need

for transparency, respect for human dignity and rights, and police accountability.

Why Community Policing is Valuable for Today’s Problems

Community policing encourages collaboration between law enforcement agencies and the

community by acknowledging officers do not have all the solutions, and community members

can contribute valuable insights that may result in proactive measures with lasting solutions. The

approach bridges the gap between the locals and law enforcement, allowing officers to better

understand the unique challenges, needs, and opportunities available for the people (Felix &

Hilgers, 2020). Most modern problems are highly complex and only multi-faceted approaches

arrived at through extensive community involvement can address their root causes.

Applying Community Policing to Issues of Homeless in Los Angeles

Police officers should create a collaborative relationship with both the homeless

individuals and residents/business owners to better understand the root causes of the issues and

deliberate on lasting solutions. For instance, the collaboration may result in efforts like regular

community cleaning, donating to build homeless shelters, and advocating for affordable housing.

LAPD should also work with social service agencies to connect homeless individuals with

housing resources and mental health/substance use services.

The Evolution of LAPD’s Professional Practice of Policing

In the past, LAPD relied on punitive tactics to enforce anti-camping laws by issuing

citations and arresting the homeless for minor activities like sleeping in public. The main aim

was to displace the homeless individuals from all public spaces (Coutin, 2021). However, the
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inefficiency of this approach resulted in a significant shift and officers are currently embracing

community-policing tactics, such as problem-oriented policing that involves collaboration with

affected individuals and relevant stakeholders to find multifaceted solutions to the complex

challenges of homelessness. LAPD is also trying to connect the homeless to relevant services,

such as housing resources and mental health treatment.

References

Coutin, J. (October 21, 2021). Policing homelessness: A review of the literature on policing

policies that target homelessness and best practices for improving outcomes. Homeless

Policy Research Institute.

https://endhomelessness.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Policing-Homelessness-

Final.pdf

Dias Felix, A., & Hilgers, T. (2020). Community oriented policing theory and practice: global

policy diffusion or local appropriation? Policing and Society, 1–9.

https://doi.org/10.1080/10439463.2020.1776280

Human Rights Watch. (August 14, 2024). “You have to move”: The Cruel and ineffective

criminalization of unhoused people in Los Angeles.

https://www.hrw.org/report/2024/08/14/you-have-move/cruel-and-ineffective-

criminalization-unhoused-people-los-angeles

Tomlin, J., Markham, S., Wittouck, C., & Simpson, A. (2024). Procedural justice and forensic

mental health: An introduction and future directions. Medicine, science, and the

law, 64(2), 157–163. https://doi.org/10.1177/00258024231206865