A recent Supreme Court decision has authorized local jurisdictions to penalize homeless persons, but cities are divided over whether the ruling has aided them in dealing with the health and safety problem as they dismantle homeless encampments.

The Democratic mayors of Seattle and Denver say they already had systems in place before the high court’s ruling last month so it had no impact in their jurisdictions.

But San Francisco Mayor London Breed on Tuesday issued a memo giving more authority to police and street cleaners to clear homeless encampments and keep them from returning in the wake of the high court ruling.

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“The goal of this enforcement is for people to accept offers of shelter and know that they cannot remain where they are,” the Democratic mayor said in a news release.

“Thank goodness for the change in the Supreme Court decision,” Ms. Breed said at a mid-July election debate hosted by a firefighter’s union, The San Francisco Standard reported. “Effective August, we are going to be very aggressive and assertive in moving encampments, which may even include criminal penalties.”

Critics say that officials take homeless people’s property and that they are skeptical to go into a shelter because they can’t bring their belongings or pets.

“Our local officials are choosing to confiscate people’s property, survival gear, medications, the last items they’re holding on to after losing everything, instead of offering … a place to live,” Jennifer Friedenbach, executive director of the Coalition on Homelessness, told The Associated Press.

In addition, the Fresno City Council gave initial approval Monday to a ban on homeless camping despite impassioned pleas from residents and advocates that people should not be punished for being poor, The Associated Press reported.

The California cities’ efforts this week follow not only the Supreme Court ruling but also an executive order by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom directing state agencies and cities to start clearing their homeless encampments.

Citing the court ruling, Mr. Newsom ordered state agencies last Thursday to adopt homeless clearing policies to tackle encampments while “respecting the dignity and well-being of all Californians.”

“This executive order directs state agencies to move urgently to address dangerous encampments while supporting and assisting the individuals living in them — and provides guidance for cities and counties to do the same. The state has been hard at work to address this crisis on our streets. There are simply no more excuses. It’s time for everyone to do their part,” Mr. Newsom said in a new release.

“With the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in Grants Pass v Johnson, local governments now have the tools and authority to address dangerous encampments and help provide those residing in encampments with the resources they need,” the governor’s news release said.

California is home to nearly a one-third of an estimated 650,000 homeless people in the U.S., according to the AP.

Last month, the Supreme Court issued a 6-3 decision ruling for Grants Pass, Oregon, saying the city may enforce a law preventing homeless encampments on public property.

The justices split along ideological lines, but the conservative majority reasoned that penalizing homeless people is not “cruel and unusual” punishment as outlawed by the Eighth Amendment.

Grants Pass implemented its ordinances to prohibit homeless people from sleeping in public parks and on streets and sidewalks. Homeless people sued in 2018, arguing that the measures ran afoul of the Constitution’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

The justices said issuing a ticket is not a constitutional violation.

However, a spokesperson for Denver Mayor Mike Johnson pushed back against the court ruling, telling The Washington Times that the city did not need the justices’ opinion to “know the right way to address homelessness is through compassion and humanity.”

“In Denver, we believe people should sleep in their own beds, not street corners. That’s why we have spent the last 12 months moving more than 1,650 people indoors, including 583 individuals who are now permanently housed, and permanently closing more than 300 city blocks to future camping. This strategy aligns with national best practices issued by the U.S. Interagency on Homelessness for addressing encampments, and we look forward to continuing this approach as we work toward bringing a total of 2,000 people indoors by year’s end,” said Jordan Fuja, press secretary for Mr. Johnson.

Additionally, a spokesperson from Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell’s office said the court decision didn’t impact their approach.

Callie Craighead, Mr. Harrell’s press secretary, said the city’s standards were established in 2017, where homeless individuals are moved indoors.

“Since data collection began in May 2022, tents have decreased from 763 to 345; RVs congregated at encampments have decreased from 426 to 179; and shelter referrals have increased from 1,831 referrals in 2022 to 2,204 referrals in 2023. Public safety incidents at encampments also showed a dramatic decrease in 2023, with a 16% reduction in fires and a 41% reduction in shots fired associated with encampments,” Ms. Craighead said in an email.

“These numbers have continued to trend downward in 2024,” she added. “Since Mayor Harrell took office, encampments in parks and impacting downtown and neighborhood sidewalks have significantly decreased.”

Still, the mayor of San Francisco, which has an estimated 8,000 homeless persons but only 4,000 beds for them, has embraced the Supreme Court ruling in clearing encampments that block sidewalks and other thoroughfares, allow for the spread of diseases and attract crime. Ms. Breed is facing a tough challenge in her re-election bid, according to the AP.

Meanwhile, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said homelessness has decreased for the first time in six years in California’s most populous city without criminalizing the homeless.

“For the first time in years, unsheltered homelessness has decreased in Los Angeles because of a comprehensive approach that leads with housing and services, not criminalization. Strategies that just move people along from one neighborhood to the next or give citations instead of housing do not work. We thank the Governor for his partnership thus far and hope that he will continue collaboration on strategies that work,” Ms. Bass said in a statement to The Washington Times.

The city’s data shows there has been a 10% decrease in homelessness and that the number of people who have been moved into housing is at an all-time high.

San Francisco, Los Angeles, Denver and Seattle were listed in the top 24 cities for the prevalence of homelessness, according to a 2023 ranking by Brookings Institution.