Similar endeavors had already had some success in lowering crime rates in MacArthur Park and the north Valley, and Los Angeles Police Chief William J. Bratton promised that the skid row initiative would target "the criminal element, which preys upon the homeless and mentally ill."
While some skid row activists decried what they called overly aggressive tactics used by police, others in the area praised the efforts as nothing short of transformational. The initiative had an almost immediate effect on crime, and the area saw a dramatic decrease in the number of homeless encampments.
But so far this year, arrests are down 12% in downtown. Fewer and fewer people have been attending the monthly "triage" meetings for the public and private groups supporting the Safer City effort.
And while the number of homeless people and encampments seems to be holding steady after the initial drop, according to statistics from the LAPD, some business owners are complaining that they are a seeing a dramatic rise in encampments and trash in the area.
George Kelling, author of the "broken windows" theory that Safer City is based on, said he expected arrests to drop as behavior on the streets changes.
Kelling, along with James Q. Wilson, have long held that targeting lesser offenses leads to reductions in major crimes. Kelling argued to the LAPD that rather than removing homeless people wholesale from the streets, police should focus on criminals, including drug dealers and prostitutes, who create a "culture of lawlessness" in the area.
"My hope is arrests would go down for minor offenses after you make an initial investment in policing an area," Kelling said. "After a period of time, the idea is the change in behavior."
There is some debate about why arrests are down.
"Maybe it's just that we are reaching a point where they don't have to arrest as many people," said Jim Howat, Los Angeles group director of homeless services for the Volunteers of America. "That would be my hopeful thinking."
Deputy Chief Sergio Diaz said that for much of last year, the department deployed its entire "buy bust" teams to the downtown area.
Those teams have since been moved to other areas, and narcotics arrests are down throughout the city.
Wakefield said the initial wave of arrests by Safer City officers created an immediate drop in crime, especially violent crime in the area, and her officers are still seeing the lasting effects on the streets.
