San Gabriel Valley Tribune Claims LAPD Captain Is Backing Down From Homeless “Dumping” Claim

Here’s how the article begins:

PASADENA -- A Los Angeles Police Department captain has backed off allegations that Pasadena police routinely "dump" homeless people downtown, acknowledging that Pasadena patrol cars may have been seen in the area for legitimate reasons.

But LAPD Capt. Andrew Smith also upbraided suburban departments for delivering homeless people to Skid Row shelters, arguing that policy-makers must do more to provide treatment closer to home.

"It would seem to me the right place for a Pasadena chronic alcoholic is in Pasadena," Smith said. "Pasadena's a big city. Why are we taking your drunken or homeless people down here?"

The Pasadena Police Department Chief claims that they do not “dump” people into downtown—what officers call “Greyhound therapy.” He says that at the last resort, they will take them to one of the downtown missions.

The article goes on to ask the questions whether cities like Pasadena should simply have their own homeless mission in their community. A staff member from the Union Station Foundation, a local Pasadena homeless program, said, “If they want a mission-style environment, downtown’s the place for that.” Here is the article.

A Pasadena councilmember says that a mission-style approach to homelessness is not what the city wants to do. The city recently finished their ten-year plan to end homelessness with a “Housing First” approach—providing permanent housing with supportive services.

So the question for today is: Is the mission approach to homelessness the solution or the problem?