Venice Beach Crackdown: LAPD Enforces Tent Ban, CIRCLE Team Assists Homeless

On Wednesday, October 9, 2024, Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers were at Venice Beach to enforce Los Angeles Municipal Code 63.44, which prohibits the erection of tents in city parks. Officers issued advisals to homeless individuals camping in tents along the beach, ensuring these public spaces remain safe and accessible to all visitors. In addition to the advisals, LAPD officers facilitated support for the unhoused by contacting the CIRCLE (Crisis and Incident Response through Community-led Engagement) team. The team was expected to arrive within the hour to offer services and assistance to those camping at the beach. CIRCLE is a 24/7 alternative response program designed to handle non-urgent 9-1-1 calls related to unhoused individuals. The program deploys trained crisis response teams, including licensed mental health clinicians and outreach workers with lived experience, to engage with individuals in need and provide access to essential services. The goal of CIRCLE is to improve interactions with unhoused Angelenos and allow LAPD to focus on traditional law enforcement efforts. Since its pilot launch in January 2022, the CIRCLE program has expanded beyond Hollywood and Venice to other parts of Los Angeles, with teams conducting proactive outreach and responding to calls for assistance. Their work is supplemented by outreach teams operating in areas of high need, offering resources such as water, snacks, and Narcan to reverse opioid overdoses.