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California Cities Step Up Homeless Camping Citations After Supreme Court Ruling

Enforcement has ticked up across California through May 2025 with shelter placements lagging far behind new citations.

Evelyn Davis Alfred is the plaintiff in a lawsuit against the city of Vallejo, California, which has tried to evict her from her “bungalow,” a tent she has lived in for two years.
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Overview

  • San Francisco arrests and citations for illegal lodging jumped 500% in the six months following the June 2024 Grants Pass v. Johnson decision.
  • Los Angeles saw homelessness-related arrests climb 68% despite Mayor Karen Bass’s pledge to focus on housing rather than enforcement.
  • By May 2025, Sacramento police had issued 844 citations and arrests for camping offenses and San Diego’s enforcement teams doubled their citation rates after the ruling.
  • Smaller cities such as Stockton, Ukiah and Merced also recorded large surges in citations, with Stockton’s rising from 14 to 213 in the six months after the decision.
  • The Los Angeles Homeless Services Agency found that 94% of cited individuals sought shelter but only 17% accessed beds, highlighting a growing enforcement–support gap.