Santa Ana police officers are clearing out homeless encampments throughout the Union Pacific Railroad multiple days a week as they ramp up cleanup efforts along the privately owned tracks.
It comes as cities across Orange County like Anaheim and Newport Beach bolster anti-camping laws and enforcement following a Supreme Court ruling this year that clears the way for cities to crack down on encampments more freely.
City Manager Alvaro Nuñez said at Tuesday’s city council meeting that since last month police officers have been going multiple times a week for the last month to help cleanup the railroad and are taking a zero tolerance approach to the homeless people out by the tracks.
He said the goal in sending out police enforcement was to keep the railroad clean and address any trespassing issues.
“If they return back to the railroad after it was cleaned they’ll receive a citation,” Nuñez said.
Under the updated program, cleanup days will happen Tuesdays, Thursdays and weekends with police presence on Fridays through Sundays along with CityNet, a homeless outreach program.
It comes after Mayor Valerie Amezcua, who is up for reelection, called at several public meetings this year for officials to take a stand against one of the city’s biggest issues – homelessness – and arrest people who are breaking the law.
[Read: How Are Santa Ana Officials Going to Address Homeless Encampments?]
According to the staff presentation, the city has spent about $10,000 in overtime costs to police officers so far. The police budget for this year is just over $157 million, according to their fiscal year budget.
In June, the police department received a $27 million salary contract to be spent over the next three and half years. The contract features a pay increase for local officers.
[Read: Can Santa Ana Afford a $27 Million Police Contract?]
Nuñez said in the first two weeks of enforcement they contacted 40 people and law enforcement gave out 34 citations for railroad trespassing.
All were talked to about resources but no one requested assistance. Five people were arrested with warrants, he said.
The services offered were substance abuse programs, mental health services and shelter services under CityNet.
Earlier this month, Anaheim cracked down on their homeless encampments citing concerns of public safety.
[Read: Anaheim Bolsters Anti-Camping Laws, Clears Out Parks]
Mayor Valerie Amezcua echoed similar words to Anaheim Councilman Jose Diaz, who said if homeless people didn’t want to take their services offered then they needed to leave.
“We have a shelter, we have programs available. They could go. If they don’t want the assistance then they need to go somewhere else and they need to not be in our city causing a problem,” Amezcua said.
“I don’t want another shelter. We’ve done enough for the homeless,” she said later at Tuesday night’s city council meeting.
The city manager also said they looked into the arrest history of the homeless people they encountered, listing previous arrests ranging from murder to narcotic violations.
The crackdowns on railroad homeless camps come off the heels of Gov. Gavin Newsom asking local legislators to clean up encampment sites.
[Read: Gov. Newsom Calls on Local Leaders to Clean Up Encampments – Will They?]
The pilot program so far has shown that people pushed out of their railroad encampments have headed toward surrounding businesses and residential areas.
As of the Oct. 15 city council meeting, the program for the Union Pacific Railroad enforcement will continue for another 45 days as the city determines their next course of action.
Santa Ana currently has 1,428 homeless people, according to the latest count.
Gigi Gradillas is a Voice of OC Tracy Wood Reporting Fellow. Contact her at gigi.gradillas@gmail.com or on Twitter @gigigradillas.
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