The Manhattan Beach City Council has moved one step closer to having Redondo Beach, rather than L.A. County, handle its state misdemeanor prosecutions; as well as offering a diversion program known as "homeless court."

The council on Tuesday night approved, 5-0, a motion to move forward with the plan. However, the city still needs to receive the OK from L.A. County District Attorney George Gascon, as well as to agree upon and approve a contract with the city of Redondo Beach.

Currently, the L.A. County District Attorney handles felonies (burglaries, robberies, vandalism, rape, murder etc.) and state misdemeanors (trespassing, public intoxication, drug and paraphernalia possession, some assault and battery cases) for the city of Manhattan Beach. (The L.A. County D.A.'s office is in charge of felony crimes and misdemeanor crimes for unincorporated areas and 78 out of 88 cities in L.A. County.)

Under the draft agreement, the city of Redondo Beach would handle the state misdemeanor cases. Manhattan Beach would pay a flat fee of $25,000/month ($300,000 annually) for the services. 

Redondo Beach would also oversee a "homeless court" program for Manhattan Beach. The homeless court program is designed to give people who are homeless the opportunity to avoid prosecution in exchange for accepting judge-mandated services that can eventually lead to housing. (Unhoused individuals are most often charged with misdemeanor crimes or municipal code violations.)

Attorneys or prosecutors will ask a judge to make appropriate orders to get participants to work towards becoming housing-ready in exchange for dismissing charges against those participants. The homeless court program connects participants with resources such as mental health counseling, substance abuse treatment, and housing placement.

Officials have also proposed a regional homeless court model, the "South Bay Housing Initiative Court," that would serve as a partnership between the South Bay beach cities and the L.A. County District Attorney's office. Manhattan Beach city officials plan to meet with Gascon's office to discuss the plan this week.

The city of Manhattan Beach has coordinated its efforts to combat homelessness through a Five-Year Plan to Address Homelessness in Our Community (PDF). It has created a homeless resource guide (PDF) to summarize a variety of resources offered near the Manhattan Beach area for those experiencing homelessness. (MBNews reported about a recent homelessness success story here.)

Manhattan Beach also has an active homelessness outreach nonprofit known as MB SAFE. 

In 2020, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA's) annual homelessness count, surveyors identified 15 homeless individuals in Manhattan Beach. (The count was not conducted in 2021 due to the pandemic.) 

The city still needs volunteers for this year's homelessness count in Manhattan Beach, to be held on the night of Wednesday, February 23 (Note that the date has moved from January to February). Volunteers can sign up here.

For those seeking additional resources, LAHSA offers a website - the Los Angeles Homeless Outreach Portal - to help make it easier to request coordinated county services for homeless individuals who need specific kinds of assistance.