NBC4 LA just aired their investigation into the how much taxpayers are really spending on "homeless encampment cleanups" in Southern California. Just last year, almost 15,000 cleanups took place in Los Angeles, and they spent millions...
First, officers have to clear all of the homeless from the area. Then, sanitation workers have to remove trash, needles, feces, and who knows what else. Finally, officials leave the site and the homeless immediately repopulate the area.
"It’s not a good use of our tax dollars," resident Roman Samiley told NBC4.
Check out the map below:
This map shows the rate of homeless per 1,000 residents (from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority) as well as the locations of repeated homeless encampment cleanups carried out by the city
"It just pushes the trash into our streets," Samiley said. "Our streets are worse after these clean ups. If you come back the day afterwards, after a major cleaning, it looks the same or worse."
The I-Team at NBC4 found out that these "cleanups" cost taxpayers over $35 million each year, just to pay the sanitation workers and police officers!
"There's an absolute better way that the city could be spending all this money," said Becky Dennison, of Venice Community Housing.
Check out the full report on NBC4.