Lompoc’s Public Safety Commission is inviting residents to a public forum later this month to discuss homelessness and public safety concerns, bringing together city police, county leaders, and service providers to address ongoing questions about responsibility, resources, and coordination.
The commission, a volunteer citizen body that makes formal recommendations to the Lompoc City Council, says the discussion comes amid growing concern from residents and confusion about what agencies can legally do when responding to calls involving people experiencing homelessness.
“There’s long been a perception in Lompoc that we are kind of the dumping ground for transients and homeless, even though we are smaller and lower income than other parts of the county,” said Angela Bacca-Cordovez, vice chair of the Public Safety Commission. “And we’ve seen a huge influx of this in the city.”
Bacca-Cordovez said the commission has been working to organize a public meeting that includes multiple agencies and community members.
“We’ve been really pushing to get a big public meeting going in January,” she said. “We can invite members of the community, representatives from the county, the nonprofit services that work with these communities, and our city police to talk about these things together.”
She said the need for that discussion became personal after a recent incident at her own home, when she called the police after a man approached her window.
“They found him and they’re like, ‘Oh yeah, we know who he is,’” Bacca-Cordovez said. “We can’t do anything about it.”
Lompoc police say situations like that often highlight a misunderstanding about what officers are legally able to do, particularly when mental health concerns are involved.
“We as police officers are not allowed to place people that are in crisis, or we believe may be a candidate, to be placed on a 5150 hold,” said Sgt. Scott Morgan, Lompoc Police Department. “We don’t have the authority to make that decision.”
A 5150 hold is a state-defined mental health hold that allows a person experiencing a mental health crisis to be temporarily detained for evaluation. Under California law, those determinations are made by mental health professionals, not police officers.
“What us here in Lompoc Police would do is, officers would show up, and if it’s determined that this subject is having an urgent crisis and there’s mental health issues going on, we’ll make calls to outside agencies such as CARES Mobile Crisis or Behavioral Wellness,” Sgt. Morgan said.
Even when officers respond, Morgan said their authority is limited if no crime has occurred.
“It’s not a crime to be unhoused,” he said.
At the county level, officials say they are also working to address what they describe as common misconceptions surrounding homelessness in Lompoc, including claims that people are being dropped off in the city from other areas.
“That is a common misconception,” said Alma Hernandez, district representative for the office of Supervisor Joan Hartmann. “People are brought back to the community where they became homeless, generally because that’s where their support system is.”
Hernandez said the county has been working to improve coordination between agencies and recently completed maintenance and vegetation-clearing efforts along the riverbed. She said the county hopes to work in partnership with city police to help maintain the area while continuing outreach and supportive services for people experiencing homelessness.
“There’s a lot of services being provided,” Hernandez said, “but they weren’t necessarily coordinated. One group doesn’t know what the other group is doing.”
Public Safety Commission leaders say the upcoming forum is intended to bring those conversations into one space, allowing residents to hear directly from city and county officials, ask questions, and share concerns before the commission makes recommendations to the city council.
The forum is scheduled for January 21 at 6:30 p.m. at Lompoc City Hall and is open to the public.
