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In Reply to: And fifteen years later... posted by E-Stat on September 7, 2024 at 09:54:12:
Some people (like DarkDave!) think that spending money on the homeless is utterly futile. But that's a poorly informed opinion. The real black hole that sucks in taxpayer's dollars is not homeless shelters, but rather the associated police services, court costs, incarceration, and hospitalization that happens when homeless are left on the streets to rot.Police Response Costs: The average cost of a police response that results in a custodial arrest is approximately $178.92. This includes the time and resources spent by officers on the scene.
Booking and Processing Costs at Police Stations: Cost just over $100 dollars.
Court Processing Costs: Each arrest incurs court costs related to staff time for preparation and hearings, averaging $636.12 per booking. This does not account for cases that go to trial, which can significantly increase costs.
Trial Costs: Misdemeanor and general sessions cases that go to trial average about $7,831.18. Felony cases can exceed $24,000 on average when they go to trial.
Jail Costs: Incarceration significantly adds to taxpayer expenses. The average cost to house an inmate in jail, including medical services, is about $160 per night. This can accumulate quickly for individuals who may be incarcerated for extended periods.
Hospitalization Cost: The average cost per emergency room visit for homeless individuals is $3,700 dollars. The average cost for hospitalization is significantly higher at $13,516 dollars, because the homeless have more serious health conditions which require longer hospital stays.
These are average expenses for the ongoing management of homeless populations. Policing, court appearances, incarceration, and hospitalization are all very expensive services. Housing the homeless changes this calculus rather dramatically. A study at UCLA demonstrates that provision of housing assistance dramatically undercuts these expenses. Hospital emergency room visits decline by 80%. Jail time is reduced dramatically as well. A study by the University of Colorado established that arrest rates of homeless populations also dropped by over 50% once these people were housed.
Investing in housing for the homeless is not just a compassionate choice. It's a smarter way to use taxpayer money.
LA county has already housed 80,000 peoole in 5 years. That's not just a statistic - that's 80,000 lives changed. Real people off the streets. More recently, LA voters approved proposition HHH, providing 1.6 billion dollars to build housing for the homeless. 13,999 supportive housing units are slated for construction, with 6,187 completed and 7,115 in design and development phases. The brain trust of Los Angeles County has figured out that it is more expensive to arrest, book, drag into court, incarcerate, and hospitalize the homeless than it is to provide them with simple shelter.
Edits: 09/07/24 09/07/24
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Follow Ups
- Yup, homelessness is rising in LA county. But solutions are also happening. - vacuous 12:09:55 09/07/24 (15)
- RE: Yup, homelessness is rising in LA county. But solutions are also happening. - Inmate51 13:58:47 09/07/24 (0)
- Dave is correct - E-Stat 12:57:36 09/07/24 (13)
- Three words do not make a coherent argument. - vacuous 13:02:22 09/07/24 (12)
- If you understand history - E-Stat 13:09:48 09/07/24 (11)
- You fail to understand the economics of homelessness. There are two choices. Either... - vacuous 13:36:10 09/07/24 (10)
- But I do understand half a century of history - E-Stat 16:16:12 09/07/24 (0)
- RE: You fail to understand the economics of homelessness. There are two choices. Either... - tomservo 13:55:32 09/07/24 (8)
- Your first question/paragraph? Follow the history of SF's dealing with the situation... - musetap 12:14:50 09/08/24 (0)
- Tom, your post is largely incomprehensible. - vacuous 14:18:10 09/07/24 (6)
- I think he asked the right question. - Tre' 19:34:28 09/07/24 (5)
- Got a few half-baked opinions, Tre? - vacuous 21:12:02 09/07/24 (4)
- Where do you get all of that? - Tre' 07:39:40 09/08/24 (3)
- You missed Tom's comment about administrators who spend too much of the public's money? - vacuous 09:41:59 09/08/24 (1)
- I didn't miss that, but I wasn't commenting on that part. - Tre' 12:20:24 09/08/24 (0)
- RE: Where do you get all of that? - E-Stat 09:01:19 09/08/24 (0)
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