Criminalization of Homelessness (From Homelessness: A National Perspective, P 57-64, 1992, Marjorie J. Robertson and Milton Greenblatt, eds.)

• NCJ Number: 137778
• Author(s): P J Fischer
• Date Published: 1992
• Length: 8 pages
• Sale Source: Plenum Press
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study discusses the relationship between illegal behavior, homelessness, and mental illness through the examination of arrests of homeless persons in Baltimore.

Abstract

A sample of 275 homeless persons with a total of 634 arrests was used to describe the pattern of arrests of homeless persons relative to the total number of arrests in the city and to infer information concerning the behavior, movements, and attributes of that population. The results show that criminal activity remains a prominent activity of the homeless population and that criminal activity among the homeless exceeds that in the general population. In Baltimore, the arrests of homeless persons mainly resulted from relatively trivial crimes including disorderly conduct and violation of park and liquor laws. Even the felony offenses that accounted for up to one-third of convictions seemed to stem more from the condition of homelessness than from genuine criminal intent. The role of criminal activity among homeless persons can be interpreted as deviance, subsistence, adaptation, or diminished capacity. 2 tables and 45 references