Salinas, CA -- As part of a coordinated strategy to address homelessness and improve safety in the Chinatown neighborhood, the Salinas Police have made more than 100 arrests in the past eight days, focusing their efforts on reducing threats posed by violent criminals and drug dealers while helping homeless people escape the streets.

The strategy, which unites the City, the Police Department, the County, service providers, businesses, and property owners, focuses on providing a "portal" out of homelessness. Whatever their other roles, partners in the effort also seek to help the homeless people they deal with get the services they need to escape the cycle of homelessness, crime, and victimization.

The partners will coordinate their efforts, so as to address the challenge systemically, as opposed to piecemeal.

As part of that systemic approach, the police are working to stop a recent surge in drug dealing and violence in the neighborhood, which endangers housed and unhoused residents of Chinatown while hampering the operations of service providers and businesses.

Since May 25, the department has assigned extra resources to Chinatown through a combination of additional officers and overtime.

People have been detained or cited for a variety of offenses. When officers have an encounter with a nonviolent homeless person, they look for information that will help stop serious crimes, and offer the homeless person advice on sources of assistance. Each officer is equipped with a form listing those services, with contact information.

"It's early, but I'm very pleased with the progress our officers have made," said Police Chief Adele Fresé. "This is the first phase of a multi-phase strategy, and we are in it for the long haul, to make a lasting difference."

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