California’s reparations task force wants state lawmakers to ban the arrest and prosecution of people who violate laws against public urination and other “public disorder offenses,” the task force said in its final report released last week.
The call to end police enforcement of laws, including those that prohibit public urination, is among the official policy recommendations listed in the final report, which contains 40 chapters and runs well over 1,000 pages.
“A signification [sic] proportion of law enforcement contact with the public relates to low-level, non-violent offenses. Thus, for example, law enforcement is frequently tasked with enforcing public disorder offenses, such as illegal camping, public intoxication, disorderly conduct, minor trespass, and public urination. Although the subjects of these contacts are often experiencing homelessness, a mental health crisis, or both, the responding officers typically possess neither training nor expertise in working with these vulnerable populations,” the report charges.