Homelessness as Crime in a Wealthy Nation

Arienne J. Jones is an attorney who advocates for a reimagined justice system.

She currently serves as Senior Policy Advisor at the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office in Chicago.[1]

Here, as a companion to her first article discussing the criminalization of poverty, Arienne discusses the criminalization of homelessness.

In Mobile, Alabama, a homeless person chooses to sleep in a vacant lot overnight. They choose that specific location because it is the safest option available, one less likely to disturb their sleep or annoy local homeowners. However, sleeping in a vacant lot is a violation of local law. For their decision to rest in a space they deem safe, the person experiencing housing and economic insecurity can be fined up to $500 and/or jailed for up to six months.

Like the powers-that-be in San Diego, those in authority positions in Mobile have made the policy decision to criminalize the poor for their poverty. The example above represents a benign action that, at most, creates a minor inconvenience for the vacant lot’s owner. However, for choosing to succumb to a basic biological need in the safest manner possible, the homeless person risks becoming entangled with the criminal legal system.

Less Affordable Housing, More Criminal Laws

Approximately 600,000 people are experiencing homelessness in the United States. There are not enough affordable housing options or temporary shelters to house each of these people, especially since federal funding for subsidized housing has steadily decreased since the 1970s. However, rather than address the lack of housing options or the systems that have led to increased housing insecurity, many cities across the country have, instead, chosen to punish the homeless.

While the funding for and availability of affordable housing has steadily declined over the last five decades, the number of local laws that punish the homeless for their lack of shelter have increased. For example, at least 95 cities across the nation have a law prohibiting sleeping in public; at least 43 cities have one or more laws that prohibit living in vehicles; at least 71 cities ban begging citywide; at least 65 cities have enacted citywide bans on loitering, loafing, and/or vagrancy; and at least 102 cities prohibit the storing of personal property in or on public spaces.[2]

These laws unreasonably target the homeless and those who experience abject poverty, all in the name of “public safety.” Many police officers have the discretion to simply order rule-violators to move on without citing them for an infraction. However, those not lucky enough to be given only a verbal reprimand are issued tickets, have their vehicles impounded, and/or are prosecuted for misdemeanor violations of the law that may carry jail time, fines, or both. Indeed, an estimated 25 to 50 percent of the general homeless population has a criminal history, often because of arrests for minor offenses associated with homelessness, like begging; and approximately 49 percent of homeless adults in the United States self-reported spending five or more days in jail.[3] Any of these options – jail, tickets, fines, etc. – place some sort of financial burden on the violator, despite the fact that those experiencing homelessness cannot afford the high costs associated with being justice-involved.

Punishment Instead of Assistance

Instead of working to help the homeless access affordable housing and services to assist with their economic insecurity, many local governments have chosen to dedicate finite resources to advancing laws that punish the poor for their poverty and burden them, particularly the homeless, with fines and fees that they cannot afford to pay. Then, upon the failure to pay one fine or fee, the poor are given punitive fees that increase their debts. When they simply do not pay these fees (because they cannot), or when they continue to violate the law as a means of survival, the poor face jail sentences.

For example, in White County, Arkansas, a local judge had a “zero tolerance” policy regarding court-imposed fines and fees. Under this policy, the judge would impose large fines and fees on people convicted of even the smallest misdemeanor violations and require them to pay at least $100 per month towards their debt if they could not pay in full. Then, if the person defaulted on their debt, the judge issued arrest warrants and the individual was either jailed, burdened with more fines and fees, or both.[4] Upon release (if jailed), none of the original issues that led to their imprisonment had been remedied, so the perpetual cycle would begin again.

A Path Forward

The most sustainable ways to end homelessness are to address its root causes, including poverty and the lack of affordable housing. Cities and localities should also repeal all laws that covertly target homeless populations, including those prohibiting sleeping in public places and vehicles, benign begging, and loafing/vagrancy. Additionally, while these laws remain, governments should only issue punishments that will not impose fines and fees or imprisonment. Prosecutors should also use their vast discretion to limit the punishment of homelessness. This can be accomplished by declining to prosecute charges stemming from homelessness, such as panhandling and storing personal belongings in public.

No aspect of poverty should be a crime, including homelessness and housing insecurity. The choice to turn governmental and societal shortcomings into offenses – punishing the homeless for realizing essential human needs in public – simply avoids correcting the larger systemic issues that breed these circumstances.