Los Angeles has been grappling with a disturbing trend the rising number of gun violence incidents targeting its unhoused population. An in-depth analysis of data from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) and the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner has revealed a stark reality. At least 278 unhoused individuals have been shot and killed in the city since 2015, with additional victims identified in 2026 and 2026.
Despite a general decline in homicides across the broader population over the past decade, violent deaths among the unhoused community have remained persistently high. This alarming trend has sparked intense debates about the effectiveness of encampment clearances and the broader implications for public safety and homelessness management.
The Complex Dynamics of Encampment Clearances
Encampments have become the most visible symbols of homelessness in Los Angeles and many other American cities. For many unhoused individuals, these encampments provide a sense of safety and community. However, the presence of encampments has also sparked significant public outcry, with critics arguing that they destabilize downtown cores and drive away businesses.
Tom Wolf, a formerly unhoused recovery advocate from San Francisco, emphasizes the economic impact of encampments. “You can’t have that in our downtown cores, because it completely destabilizes the entire city,” Wolf said. “And when you drive away business, you lose money, and then pretty soon you can’t afford all those services you need for the homeless that you’re trying to help.”
The Impact of Criminalization
In response to the growing furor over encampments, Governor Gavin Newsom threatened to pull state funding from counties that fail to show “demonstrable results” in clearing them. This announcement followed the 2026 Supreme Court ruling in Grants Pass v. Johnson, which legalized arresting people for camping outside, even when shelter isn’t available.
Advocates for the unhoused argue that criminalization is a shortsighted approach. Donald Whitehead Jr, the executive director of the National Coalition for the Homeless, explains, “What criminalization does is it moves people into the shadows, it isolates people, and therefore they become more susceptible to violence.”
The Current State of Encampment Clearances in Los Angeles
One of Los Angeles’ primary programs for addressing homelessness is Mayor Karen Bass’ Inside Safe initiative. Launched in, this program aims to reduce encampments by offering hotel rooms to those living in them until more permanent housing becomes available. Since its inception, Inside Safe has served nearly 6,000 people, with almost 3,100 remaining in housing or interim housing. However, about 2,500 others have returned to the streets, accounting for approximately 42% of all program participants.
Gisselle Espinoza, an LAPD commander and coordinator on homeless outreach, explained that the city collaborates with local leaders to identify which encampments to clear. “We work with the council district for that area,” Espinoza said, “and we let them know what the issues are, and together we come up with a plan to see how we can better approach that situation and go into those areas and offer services.”
Challenges and Controversies
City Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez, who represents District 1, which includes MacArthur Park, has raised concerns about the effectiveness of these clearances. “We saw videos online of encampments being swept by LAPD that we had not participated in,” Hernandez said, “and we’re just really shocked to see because the next day we were going to do an operation to house people there.”
These controversies highlight the complex and often contentious nature of encampment clearances. While some argue that they are necessary for public safety and urban revitalization, others contend that they disproportionately affect the unhoused community and fail to address the root causes of homelessness.
The Human Cost of Encampment Clearances
For many unhoused individuals, encampments provide more than just shelter; they offer a sense of community and access to essential services. Jeremy Rosenprinz, a member of the volunteer-led L.A. outreach group Ktown For All, explains that unhoused people consider factors like proximity to family, friends, and work when choosing where to live. “When the police come in, they sever all of those bonds,” he said.
Rosenprinz’s work with Ktown For All led him to befriend Vernon Henry, an unhoused man who lived in an encampment near Immanuel Presbyterian Church in Koreatown. In 2026, Henry was shot and killed by a stranger who was harassing a neighbor. “Right after this community had gone through this horrible tragedy, the city’s solution was to clear the entire encampment,” Rosenprinz said. “They didn’t house anybody. And all these people were scattered, and some of them I never saw again.”
This tragic outcome underscores the potential consequences of encampment clearances. While they may address immediate concerns about public safety and urban aesthetics, they often fail to provide long-term solutions for the unhoused community. Instead, they can exacerbate the very issues they aim to resolve, leaving vulnerable individuals even more at risk.
Comparing Approaches: New York City vs. Los Angeles
Comparing the unhoused populations of New York City and Los Angeles reveals a critical factor that appears to make a significant difference: getting people sheltered, even if it’s not permanent housing. While New York’s total unhoused population is roughly equal to that of L.A. County, shooting deaths of unhoused people are far lower in New York. This disparity can be attributed to New York’s right-to-shelter law, which ensures that the number of unsheltered individuals is much smaller than in Los Angeles.
Over the past decade, New York City’s unsheltered population has remained between about 2,400 and 4,500, while Los Angeles’ is estimated at approximately 27,000. With fewer people at risk on the streets, seven unhoused individuals were shot to death in homicides in New York City between July 2026 and July 2026. In the city of Los Angeles alone, that number was 30.
This comparison highlights the potential benefits of prioritizing shelter and housing solutions over encampment clearances. By providing stable housing options, cities can reduce the number of unsheltered individuals and, consequently, the risk of gun violence and other crimes targeting the unhoused community.
