Los Angeles' Safer City initiative has cut crime on the city's infamous Skid Row but also put more homeless people in jail for minor offenses, the Los Angeles Times reported Oct. 3.

A new UCLA study found that serious crimes declined 35 percent since the plan was implemented last year. Safer City saw 50 more police officers assigned to Skid Row, with an emphasis on enforcing laws against even miniscule infractions like jaywalking. The number of homeless people living on the streets also has declined.

However, UCLA law professor Gary Blasi noted, "There have been unintended consequences that have negatively impacted the homeless and mentally disabled people, with unpaid citations for jaywalking leading to people going to jail and a focus on small-quantity drug buys ending up with ordinary addicts being sent to state prison."

UCLA researchers said that most of the citations given out by police on Skid Row have been for jaywalking and loitering. Blasi said that homeless people who don't pay their fines end up with criminal records, making them ineligible for public housing. "If this is meant to change behavior, it is not working," he said.

Blasi also reported that the city has done little to boost social services on Skid Row alongside law enforcement.