Analysis of police responses to homelessness suggests balanced approaches in targeted communities, indicating a need for supportive measures.
There are no national standards in the United States to guide police responses to homelessness. The police should be part of a jurisdiction’s response to homelessness but should not lead it. The menu of police responses to homelessness that is described in this brief, which includes a range of proactive and reactive measures, provides a starting point for any law enforcement agency looking to tackle issues related to homelessness in their communities.
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Thomas et al. (2025) studied this question.
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