Social Work’s Role in Ending the Criminalization of Homelessness: Opportunities for Action

Historically, homeless people have been viewed as deviant, immoral, and in need of management. In particular, behaviors associated with street homelessness, such as panhandling and public drinking, triggered negative perceptions of homeless populations from the early 1900s to the late 1950s (Howard, 2013). Although the legal community made some efforts to decriminalize vagrancy and public intoxication in the 1960s, the intersection of homelessness and criminal justice involvement has remained potent (Kushel, Hahn, Evans, Bangsberg, & Moss, 2005). Furthermore, public responses to people experiencing homelessness have become less sympathetic as people associate street homelessness with a visual reminder of poverty and destitution in their community (Smith, 1996). Although the criminal justice system is traditionally used to punish dangerous and predatory criminals, it can also be used to control the behavior of certain groups of people, including those experiencing homelessness. Efforts to use policing activities to target homeless people stem from centuries-old vagrancy laws used to manage or displace poor and socially detached individuals. The homeless are common targets of policing when their behavior, especially behavior performed in public spaces, is viewed as offensive and deviant. Furthermore, the public often views homelessness and crime as interconnected. Therefore, relying on the criminal justice system to manage homeless populations is a common reaction to the perceived criminal threat associated with homelessness (Amster, 2008; Smith, 1996).