(CA) Homelessness on rise in beach areas

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/jun/23/homeless-ocean-beach-traveler-security-patrol/



A sticker at the South Coast Longboards surf shop in Ocean Beach urges people not to feed the homeless. Aimed to thwart what some call aggressive panhandling, the stickers have sparked controversy.

Homelessness on rise in beach areas
By David Garrick
7 a.m.June 23, 2014

By David Garrick7 a.m.June 23, 2014Fed up with the growing problem, the Ocean Beach MainStreet Association launched a private security patrol June 10. Two trained guards in uniform have been vigilantly walking and biking along the beach, Newport Avenue and other areas known to be popular with the homeless.

“We aren’t targeting the homeless, but we are targeting what we call bad behavior,” said Denny Knox, executive director of the merchants group.

That includes people who urinate in public, take drugs on the beach, get visibly drunk on the street, go through trash without replacing lids, vandalize businesses and splice into power lines illegally, she said.

“We’re targeting the people who don’t seem conscious or respectful of what’s around them,” Knox said. “The security patrol is a deterrent. They’re a presence and they move people along when they’re blocking the sidewalk.”