San Diego people--Jailed for sleeping on beach?

[PaDUer]

Is it true that you will be arrested for sleeping on the beach and taken to jail for 10 days for sleeping on the beach?? Is this true?

[Booberdawg]

1. Edited

On second thought ....

[haele]

2. Well, depends what you mean by that...

"sleeping on the beach" can be anything from a homeless guy putting out a sleeping bag out in the open on the sand to sleeping in a car or RV at the beach parking lot, both of which are technically illegal due to regulations concerning public use of city and county parks property. Normal regulations in the city and county are that unless there are specified camping areas in which one needs to get a permit, one cannot "park" or be found sleeping in the open on the property between (generally)the hours of two and four in the morning. In a few places where there's either sensitive wildlife or possible danger, a park or beach is closed between sunset to sunrise.
From what I understand, having had to find camping areas for overnight events throughout the county, it's purely for insurance purposes.

If the cops are going to go rousting, they'll usually hit the obvious out in the open areas during the posted times. However, many police and parks employees will "look the other way" so long as it's not noticable that the person is camping out or that it seems they could pose a possible danger to themselves or passersby.

Drunks or stoners passed out along the tideline are always rousted. That's a safety issue Homeless living in the crevices and bushes out of the way or sleeping under the lifeguard shacks or by the firepits are not usually hasseled unless they're "obvious" or trashing the area.

In the park nearby where there's actually a ranger living on site, there are always a few campers or cars where working homeless are living in the two parking lots near the community center (where between 8am and 6pm, there are availible showers and toilets). The sheriff's deputies know these folks by name, and usually leave them alone; even though there's officially "no overnight parking" in the park. They'll generally move between any one of the four parking areas in the park, staying a couple days to a week in any one place. If there's a large event scheduled for the center, the park rangers usually ask these people to park elsewhere for the duration of the event to open up parking for the public.

Yes, "sleeping on the beach" is technically illegal - as is being a under the influence of an intoxicant in public. But it's usually enforced by arrest only when the sleeper is an obvious public nuisance or is putting him/herself and the public in danger.

Usually, the police have other things to worry about than someone sleeping overnight in a public location.

Haele

[PaDUer]

5. Thanks for your response

Since I didn't know the laws in CA, I thought I'd ask since I don't know the technicalities..how long do they usually keep them in jail? Is there a fine?
It's someone that I know..Not anyone in my immediate family..:-)
We just heard about it this evening and I thought I'd ask to find out..
Does San Diego have their jail listings online? Do they have their inmates info online as Utah does?
I really appreciate the responses I've received.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

3. Yes it is true. Back during the Wilson/ Poppy years and continuing

with the creation of various city ordinances, homelessness has slowly been criminalized, which is the real intent of these laws.

Oddly enough, California is one of the meanest states when it comes to homelessness and San Francisco is one of the meanest cities.

I belong to an org called the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty that advocates for these people. With another group that I belonged to, we took on the City of Santa Ana back in 1991 and got many charges dropped.

[PaDUer]

4. check your private message

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