Homeless individuals on the beach town boardwalk face an ultimatum from police: "A potential conundrum may arise."

City officials in Long Beach, California, have announced plans to penalize and potentially arrest homeless individuals in an effort to address the city's most problematic encampments.

The Supreme Court has ruled, 6-3, that cities have the right to ban people from sleeping and camping in public places and arrest them, even if there are no public shelters available, overturning lower court decisions that deemed this practice cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment if the person had no other place to sleep.

Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a directive to remove homeless encampments following the highest court's June decision. Prior to this, Newsom personally cleaned up garbage left by homeless encampments.

The latest municipality to declare its intention to follow that order is Long Beach.

Last week, Long Beach Deputy City Manager Teresa Chandler announced in a memo that the enforcement mechanism will be used as an additional tool when appropriate, while continuing to apply a human-centered approach to addressing homelessness.

Officials in the city have announced plans to focus on clearing encampments that pose a risk to public safety or obstruct access to public spaces such as libraries, beaches, and parks. Additionally, the memo states that the city will identify encampments where individuals have consistently refused offers of shelter.

City officials did not reveal the cost of citations or the potential jail time for those who disregard citations, despite public works teams responding to 3,200 encampments in the past year, as stated in the memo.

On Thursday, Dockweiler State Beach sanitation workers ignored the County Supervisors' opposition to the order and followed suit, according to the California Globe.

Planet Chronicle Digital interviewed California legal experts who expressed optimism but remained skeptical about the effectiveness of the new executive order.

The notion that people will be jailed for being homeless is absurd," criminal attorney David Wohl stated. "In L.A. county, where these jails are located, I have seen clients sentenced on felony cases to 120 days in jail, only to be released the next day. The overcrowding in L.A. county jails has increased to the point where no one will be jailed for homelessness.

He inquired, "What will you do if the fines aren't paid?"

Leo Terrell, a civil rights attorney, questioned the motive behind Newsom's issuance of the executive order.

""Gavin Newsom had a plan to address homelessness in 2008, but now, with the upcoming election, people are questioning the motives behind the current efforts," he said to Planet Chronicle Digital."

The Colorado Springs Gazette reported that Terrell remembered Newsom's invitation to California for the world's homeless population in 2021, where he promised to house and feed them all.

"Congratulations, Long Beach," Terrell said. "You're about 10 years late. Whatever is motivating you, the governor's executive order or the Supreme Court rulings, I don't care. I wish that everywhere in California followed that ruling."

The success of Long Beach, according to him, depends on the willingness of law enforcement to arrest and punish the homeless.

Will the city prosecutor prosecute these cases? It might be a catch-22," he said. "Will they be prosecuted for the crime? Will they be in jail? A lot of people get a citation, they don’t show up.

"Will the city attorney of Long Beach allocate the necessary resources to maintain cleanliness in those areas? Additionally, will the city attorney and council approve the Long Beach Police Department's request to patrol those areas continuously?"

Long Beach police, the city attorney, city prosecutor, Los Angeles County district attorney, and Newsom's office were contacted by Planet Chronicle Digital for comment.