LOS ANGELES — Some 200 homeless people wait outside a Skid Row shelter, clutching citation slips for minor offenses: jaywalking, sitting on a curb, pushing around shopping carts.
In the past, many would have faced stiff fines and possible arrest for neglecting the tickets. But now they are eager to settle the cases with prosecutors, who are offering to forgive the infractions in exchange for four hours of community service.
Authorities hope the new city program will ease a backlog of citations clogging the courts and resolve a nettlesome debate over ticketing people in the nation’s densest concentration of homeless.
“It’s a good deal,” said Charles Gregory, a 47-year-old disabled man who lives on Skid Row and has two tickets for fare evasion on a commuter train. “These are $200 apiece. I can’t pay that. I live in a homeless shelter.”
The Los Angeles city attorney’s office launched the project four months ago by posting fliers around the neighborhood announcing monthly “citation clinics.” About 500 tickets were erased after the first two clinics.
Defendants could choose chores such as sweeping, serving meals and attending support meetings for alcoholics and drug addicts.
