My Thoughts on the Davis Open Container Policy
By Richard Cipian
This is Richard Cipian. I want to take the time to express my opinions about the Davis Open Container Policy and its effects in the on the Davis homeless community. The Open Container Policy was passed with the intent of decreasing and eliminating alcohol consumption and its subsequent disruptive behavior around others who were trying to use a city park. Enforcement of the Open Container Policy was also believed to decrease the incidents of crime that arise within the situational context of alcohol drinking. In 2004, the first review of the Open Container Policy reviewed that a few in the homeless community were cited for the consumption of alcoholic beverages in city parks and areas of Davis covered under the ordinance. It is noted that in 2004, a majority of the citations for public drinking were issued to members of our homeless community. A sunset clause was established to re-review the effect of the ordinance as to be sure that enforcement of the ordinance did not bring about targeting of students at UC Davis or of other marginalized groups such as the homeless in the community. Upon review two years later, the Open Container Policy was established as a permanent ordinance. What will be reviewed at this council meeting will be modifications to the ordinance with the inclusion of Green Belts as well as N Street Park.
In order to examine whether the modification of the ordinance is the best city policy, we have to examine two competing philosophies. The first philosophy is the decreasing of crime in city parks that is associated with alcohol consumption. The second philosophy is the fostering of the cycle of incarceration for our mentally ill and economically deprived homeless in Davis. With the enforcement of the Open Container Policy, there has been a decrease in alcohol related crime in certain areas of the city and there is no evidence that the policy targets students. The increase in crime along the green belts and N Street park during the summer of 2006 promotes the need of a tool Davis officers can utilize to decrease crime in city parks because without the Open Container Policy extended to N Street, crime and public nuisance will continue. I agree , the goal should be to decrease crime in a community and enforcement of a law to achieve it is one means as to eliminating crime. I want to suggest another means as to decreasing crime in city parks and the way I suggest is through more job opportunities, an expansion of detox and rehab programs, the establishment of a drinking area under police observation, and enforcement of the Policy in already established areas in the city.
A majority in the homeless community drink alcohol for three reasons. The first reason is that many in the homeless community do not have jobs . The second reason is that the homeless do not have a motivation to get shelter because there are long established waiting for affordable housing along with the other barriers to housing that I do not have to mention. Just refer to the 2007 Homeless Yolo Homeless Summit document. The third reason is that mental illnesses and painful physical disorders run very high in the homeless community and like students and housed community members, we turn to alcohol consumption to reduce stress in our daily lives. We can work as a concerned community work together to increase the amount of jobs we provide for our homeless through job fairs, as well as a master list of all open jobs in the community that are open to the homeless including odd jobs. We can provide more housing opportunities for our homeless by establishing a trust fund that funds scholarships for homeless people who would like to be housed. Such a scholarship program would pay the first months rent, security deposit and a months rent for a individual seeking to be housed. Expand the section 8 voucher programs to people in the Davis community and reduce the age of admission into the Roosevelt program to 50 years of age. Let's increase outreach with family practice doctors and private family therapists working in Davis. We can decrease physical pain in the homeless community and untreated mental illness through an emphasis in preventative care and the housing of the homeless.
Some may say that the above are laudable ideas and that Yolo County is en route in to implementing this county wide. The truth is that Yolo County is still applying for grants to submit a 10 year homeless plan. It could take up to six years before we even have a once a month homeless project Homeless Connect, similar to San Francisco's program.
It may be a county mandate to work on homeless concerns but that does not limit city government in Davis to truly change lives for the poor and the homeless. Review (SB 2 ) authored by California Senator Cedillo. We can apply for more grants and mobilize citizens in our community to work towards change. Let's do the above because it is the right thing to do. The alternative is the the modifications to the Open Container Policy will be established as permanent doctrine. More in the homeless community will be arrested and will wind up going in and out of Yolo County jails because they can not pay a open container violation citation. The state of California may be looking at expanding mental health and crime aversion programs in jails and prisons through out the state but these programs will also take time to implement and evaluate.
If we established a city park where drinking was allowed, and publicized that drinking was allowed in that park, you may be able to funnel the folks who are drinking in public places into the park and watch them. Hopefully, less members in the homeless community will be cited for breaking the ordinance. If this strategy does not work, you can always continue with the ordinance changes. The other option is to have a officer confiscate the alcohol beverage of a drinking homeless or house enabled person and try to do homeless outreach on the spot - provide a homeless person drinking with assistance with social services ( look at Woodland P.D's policy) instead of issuing a citation for first or second time offenders.
We as a community can truly change lives if we have the political will. Otherwise, more in our homeless community will wind up in Yolo jails unable to pay citation fees. Missed opportunities for social mobility in our homeless community would have been lost.
Feel free to enter this email in the public record.
Hope all is well,
Richard Cipian
