Los Angeles is catching flak for not being able to figure out
how to
maintain its own roads and
sidewalks, despite its massive budget. Nevertheless, the city
is looking at new ways to milk its citizens for even more money by
trying to turn a host of minor crimes into ticketed administrative
citations.
Los Angeles City Council is looking at the possibility of an
“Administrative Citation Enforcement” pilot program. The city
(aided by the Los Angeles Times) is presenting the program
as a way to reduce the hassle for police to address low-level
municipal violations. There’s so much paperwork involved and it is
such a hassle when people don’t respond to warnings! It’s being
pushed as a way to avoid having to arrest people for very minor
crimes,
which seems admirable at first glance:
It would allow city officials to impose financial penalties for
such offenses as urinating in public, having dogs off leashes at
the beach or dumping garbage in public streets.Officials said the proposal, which was approved by the City
Council’s budget committee Monday, is needed because warnings can
be ignored and officers are often reluctant to take actions that
can trigger a misdemeanor case.
Noise complaints at a child’s party are also cited as an
example. “We don’t want to arrest Mommy and Daddy,” explained one
City Council member. But note the examples here are all common
community nuisances where actually most (nonlibertarian) folks
wouldn’t object to citations. But the devil, as always, is in the
details. The pilot program lists two-and-a-half pages of citable
offenses, most of which have to do with pets and animals, and many
of which the average resident might not be aware are even offenses.
In addition to “failure to keep sidewalks clean,” the offenses
include “tampering with refuse” (which will likely snag the many
extremely poor folks who comb through recycling bins on trash day
before the trucks come), “failure to post city business permit in a
fixed location of business,” “café entertainment without a permit,”
“amplified sound—refrigeration, air or heating,” “harboring
unlicensed dog,” and most importantly “feeding pigeons in certain
areas.” A police officer could probably hand out a half-dozen of
these citations walking down the street where I live (especially in
regards to pet licensing and stray animals). You can read the
city’s details about the proposed program and the
rest of the list here (pdf).
The citations will start at $100 but work all the way up to
$1,000 for repeat violations. There is a two-step appeals process,
but heads up: If you want to take it all the way, you have to
submit the value of the fine as a deposit for the privilege and pay
additional fees should you lose. And while the city has the burden
of proof, it only has to reach the “preponderance of the evidence”
threshold against the citizen, which is a much lower requirement
than “beyond a reasonable doubt.”
The citations will be handled through an outside vendor who will
get paid a flat fee per citation. The city expects that the new
program will eventually generate $2.5 million in revenue per year.
It will also create six new city employee positions.
Much like sticking police officers in schools prompted schools
to start treating all forms of student behavior as criminal
activity, making it a breeze for police to generate revenue for the
city (and themselves) by citing people for a host of minor crimes
is going to obviously result in police making citizens’ lives more
miserable, especially for poor people who perhaps aren’t following
every single pet law or business regulation because they can’t
afford it.
Related: Earlier in the year, Brian Doherty noted how strict
enforcement of jaywalking and misdemeanor laws and the
implementation of various “small fines” like these are
making life miserable for the poor.
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