LA CAN on Use of Criminal Justice System to Push Out Venice’s Homeless/Poor
"Beating a drum and carrying signs reading ‘RVs Save Lives’ and ‘Terror Is Having No Home,’ about two dozen homeless people and their advocates marched in Venice on Saturday to protest what they say is an unwarranted crackdown on the homeless in the funky but gentrifying beach town.
‘It’s just a continuation of the pressure to move the poor of Venice out of town – long-term residents who don’t fit the desires of the new population that’s moving in,’ said Pete White of the Los Angeles Community Action Network.
Activists allege that police have been targeting people living in recreational vehicles or on the streets for citation and arrest.
Over the last two months, an additional 21 officers have been stationed in neighborhoods near Venice Beach, tripling the number of officers assigned to combat what Pacific Division Capt. Jon Peters described as ‘significant increases’ in crime."
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