Enforcement action and effect on crime rates In the first year of the SCI, 12,000 citations were issued, the majority for pedestrian violations. About 750 arrests were made each month, 55% of which were drug-related offenses. Few arrests were for serious violent crimes like homicide (1 arrest), robbery (8 arrests), aggravated assault (13 arrests), or rape (no arrests). Sociologist
Alex S. Vitale criticized the SCI and said it should not be replicated in other cities due to its failure to reduce homelessness prevalence, its high cost, and its modest effect on crime reduction. Because monetary fines were levied against people without the means to pay them, the citations turned into arrest warrants. In a fourteen-month period, 1,200 people were arrested in the SCI targeted area for unpaid citations. Vitale also noted that targeting drug offenses also caused a cascade of other effects. Though a majority of drug distribution charges from the SCI involved quantities of drugs valued at less than $20, conviction on drug distribution charges has consequences such as permanent ineligibility for public housing, federal financial aid for college,
food stamps, federal job training programs, and
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (welfare). Drug-related convictions also make it more challenging for people to find employment and support themselves. Skid Row residents became "copwise" through their numerous interactions with law enforcement via the SCI, becoming more skillful at avoiding officers' attention. Residents also implemented a Community Watch to document police officer behavior, or "police the police". Resistance strategies against some of these policing tactics eventually resulted in a legal
injunction that prevented routine confiscation of property by law enforcement. ==References==