Los Angeles, CA. Are skid row street vagrants merely homeless or are they criminal drug addicts choose to live lawlessly on the streets? The FULL DISCLOSURE NETWORK® presents an exclusive twelve minute Video News Blog debate featuring prominent Los Angeles and New York authorities who hold strongly differing opinions. At issue is how government should address solving the problems of street vagrancy.
Full Disclosure® videotaped the Manhattan Institute's Forum entitled "Policing Skid Row" in downtown Los Angeles on January 17, 2008. Those featured in this short video debate are:
- William Bratton, Los Angeles Police Chief
- Torie Osborn, Sr. Advisor on Homeless to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa
- James Q. Wilson, Ronald Reagan Chair, Pepperdine University
- George L. Kelling, Sr. Fellow Manhattan Institute & Prof. of Criminal Justice at Rutgers
- Heather MacDonald, Manhattan Institute, John Olin Fellow
- Estela Lopez, Executive Director, Central City East Association
- Carol Wilkins, Director for Intergovernmental policy for Corporation for Supportive Housing
- Leslie Dutton, Moderator
This video news blog debate is a preview of Full Disclosure® programs to come, examining the issues surrounding Street Crimes, Drugs and Vagrants and will feature more of the panel discussions from the Manhattan Institute Forum. The programs are to be featured on 45 cable systems (channel listings here) and available on the Internet FREE for a short period of time from the www.fulldisclosure.net home page, there after will be available to subscribers.
Known as "the news behind the news" Full Disclosure Network® since 1992 and produced by host Leslie Dutton and Producer T. J. Johnston. In 2002 the Full Disclosure® special series "L. A.'s War Against Terrorism" was recognized by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences with a local Emmy Award for a public affairs, informational series. Channels and airtimes can be found on the website at www.fulldisclosure.net
Comments to date: 21. This is page 1 of 3.
GAURANG MMM, I usa
Posted: 04:46 pm [PST] on August 25 2008
hi i like your comment
bye
Washington Drug Addiction
ANITA CASTREJON acton ca
Posted: 07:26 am [PST] on June 01 2008
I feel the politicians are greedy slime balls that are over paid and hinder not help our society.
Let them donate some of their saleries to the cause.
Chris Venice
Posted: 09:20 am [PST] on April 13 2008
As a community police advisory board member, past neighborhood council member and past homeless outreach committee member you come to realize the problem with so-called homelessness is far more complex than the one word used to describe the entire spectrum. The true homeless, the ones who are down on their luck, want off the streets, and will follow rules are in actuality very few in number. They will utilize the existing "homeless" services and get off the streets. The addicts, drunks, mentally ill, and parolees are service resistant at the minimum and in many cases just plain dangerous to the rest of the law abiding population at large.
Then there are the social services which survive by government money and to keep that flowing, they must show numbers of contacts with the "homeless" population. The more contacts the more money they get.
Dave Los Angeles
Posted: 09:47 pm [PST] on April 12 2008
Move ALL the homeless to a tent city in an isolated, open area providing drug of choice, food, water, sanitation. Compassion, not policing, while at the same time not degrading city streets.
Yao Glez Yorba Linda
Posted: 02:57 am [PST] on April 10 2008
During my college years I used to worked during Thanksgiving in the Salvation Army in Skid Row and it was really sad but most skid row homeless are drug addicts and they do not want help, they want drugs and how can we help someone who does not want to be help? This is a very complex issue. I really wished how to solve the problem but is not easy.
T.J. Hooker The mean streets of LA
Posted: 04:36 pm [PST] on April 01 2008
Leslie, forgive the pun, but the wording of survey question #3 is loaded. If enforcing the laws by LAPD is "hassling people", then change the laws so the homeless will be left to act, ie. break the law(s),as they see fit.
Lee Evanston, IL
Posted: 03:45 pm [PST] on March 31 2008
Society has a right, and an obligation to itself, to protect itself from this type of degeneration.
Joey Peyton Downtown Los Angeles
Posted: 04:02 pm [PST] on March 17 2008
Skid Row will never change and should remain the landmark it is to so many tourists. Field Trips should be in place to show the youth of today what happens with drug abuse.
Jonathan Bell Boston, MA
Posted: 06:16 pm [PST] on February 26 2008
I lived on Skid Row (Hotel Panama) for 7 months, Housing would be helpful, but you cannot build enough fast enough, it will fill up too fast. The problem of drug addiction will still exist as once you leave your front door, you are in fact back on Skid Row, drug dealers galore. They post up in front of the mission in front of the Police Station. It's a tough issue - I got out, I was lucky to have family that cared. I am a fully responsible functioning human being again. I would love to help tackle the issues in LA.
Alysn Phoenix AZ
Posted: 04:29 am [PST] on February 07 2008
There comes a point when the fact of being a human should no longer trump the fact that you are a drain and a disease to humanity in general. There is no virtue in constant compassion when the only value left in the object of that compassion is that it happened to be a human at one time. When you continually choose to be less than a rational human, you should lose the right to be treated as one.