Fourth anniversary of the Safer Cities Initiative sparks protest

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Paul White of the Community Action Network said downtown gentrification was the key reason the city created the Safer Cities Initiative. White said police have barraged the homeless and residents with unnecessary citations.

"And so what this amounts to is intimidation tactics geared toward pushing people away from the central core of the city," White said.

Los Angeles Police Department Lt. Shannon Paulson is in charge of the Safer Cities Initiative. She believes increased city attention to Skid Row means residents there get a chance at normalcy.

"The same level of service and attention and concern that is given to the rest of the city, needed to be given to the Skid Row area," Paulson said.

The days of "anything goes in Skid Row" are over, Paulson said. She also said that police citations are more often than not aimed at connecting those in need with service providers and not jail time.

"If that means that somebody doesn't get to defecate or blatantly deal drugs or engage in public displays of intoxication or fighting or anything else, right outside their residence or their place of business, you or I wouldn't appreciate that going on, neither should the residents here," Paulson said.

But community activist Pete White wants people to carefully consider the iniative's cost.

"We cannot continue to mismanage very scarce resources by attempting to police our way out of poverty," White said.

Both White and Paulson agree the city needs more low-income housing.

Community Action Network organizers are calling for a public review of the Safer Cities Initiative.