NCJ Number
152726
Date Published
1993
Length
12 pages
Annotation
San Francisco's Matrix Program, initiated in 1993, targets homeless persons who sell drugs or assault people, and police officers represent the program's frontline.
Abstract
As part of the Matrix Program, police officers spend at least 1,320 hours per week enforcing public nuisance laws related to homeless persons; at $30.17 per hour for the police officer's salary and fringe benefits, monthly expenditures total nearly $160,000. Most enforcement actions by the police involve issuing citations, but police officers can also make custodial arrests and issue warrants. Homeless persons booked into San Francisco's County Jail are of two types, those whose bail amount is less than $1,000 and those whose bail amount exceeds $1,000. As persons targeted by the Matrix Program accumulate more than six tickets or fail to appear on court dates, they will be detained in increasing numbers. Because police, jail, and court costs of dealing with homeless persons are substantial, more cost- effective alternatives to police action embodied in the Matrix Program are recommended that deal with problems faced by the homeless. 14 footnotes and 3 figures