Downward Spiral

Homelessness and its Criminaliztion

As homelessness has increased across the country, so has the number of people living in public places. Shelters do not provide enough space to house the number of homeless people.  On any given night there are at least as many individuals on the streets as in shelters.

Cities have responded to this trend by passing criminal laws that target homeless people and activities related to homelessness such as panhandling or sitting and sleeping in public. Cities are also using rarely enforced vagrancy and loitering laws to target homeless people. Constitutional challenges to such laws have been filed in courts across the country and many city actions have been invalidated as a result.

This article argues that instead of implementing criminalization policies cities should address the causes of homelessness. Beginning with an overview of homelessness this article then reviews recent efforts by local governments to criminalize activities related to homelessness and the litigation challenging their efforts.

The article proposes that laws criminalizing activities related to homelessness are unlikely to be constitutional or effective in meeting their goals. The article also addresses public policy concerns as well as city responses to court rulings.

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