{"id":8553,"date":"2018-09-10T14:05:42","date_gmt":"2018-09-10T18:05:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wordpress-537697-2997182.cloudwaysapps.com\/?p=8553"},"modified":"2022-10-09T07:51:41","modified_gmt":"2022-10-09T11:51:41","slug":"criminalization-of-homelessness-statistics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress-537697-2997182.cloudwaysapps.com\/criminalization-of-homelessness-statistics\/","title":{"rendered":"Criminalization of Homelessness Statistics"},"content":{"rendered":"
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What Is Criminalization of Homelessness?<\/h2>\n

The term \u201cCriminalization of Homelessness\u201d refers to a range of laws and ordinances that punish people simply for being homeless. According to Housing Not Handcuffs<\/a>, a multi-organization campaign to address this issue, criminalization of homelessness occurs when:<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026Law enforcement threatens or punishes homeless people for doing things in public that every person has to do. This can include activities such as sleeping, resting, sheltering oneself, asking for donations, or simply existing in public places. It also includes arbitrarily or unfairly enforcing other laws, such as jaywalking or disorderly conduct against homeless individuals, and the practice of \u2018sweeps\u2019 or displacing homeless people from outdoor public spaces through harassment, threats, and evictions from living in camps.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Despite ample evidence to show that criminalization strategies are ineffective, many cities have increased these efforts in recent years because people don\u2019t want to see homeless people near their businesses or homes and arresting them is the quickest way to remove them. A report<\/a> from the National Homelessness Law Center tracked criminalization of homelessness in 187 American cities and found that from 2006 to 2019, city-wide bans on:<\/p>\n