By Gale Holland
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles City Council gave preliminary approval to two ordinances designed to make it easier to break up homeless encampments, which have mushroomed across Southern California and raised an outcry from some businesses and residents.
Councilman Gil Cedillo cast the lone opposition vote, saying that the measures would perpetuate a failed strategy of criminalizing a homeless population that, despite past enforcement, grew 12% in the last two years.
“We spend $100 million on homelessness, and 85% of our response is law enforcement,” he said. “That tells us our strategy is not working.”
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