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Date: November 25, 2024 Mon
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Results for loitering
5 results foundAuthor: Frankel, Allison Title: "Forced into breaking the Law": The Criminalization of Homelessness in Connecticut Summary: The report examines how Connecticut’s homeless residents face the threat of criminal sanctions for simply existing. The report also documents how Connecticut city ordinances, such as those prohibiting loitering, panhandling, and sleeping in public, punish people for performing necessary, life-sustaining functions, which effectively criminalizes homelessness itself. It further outlines how the criminalization of homelessness violates state, federal, and international law. The release of the report coincides with National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week and the launch of the national "Housing Not Handcuffs" campaign, organized by National Coalition for the Homeless and the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, which aims to end the criminalization of homelessness. The criminal justice system often escalates and results in a downward spiral, students said. If people are too poor to pay their fine, they must contest the ticket in court. But those interviewed for the report faced high barriers to showing up on their court date. For instance, many people never received notice of their court dates because they did not have an address or lacked transportation to get to court. Failure to pay the fine or go to court can result in arrest and incarceration, making it even more difficult to obtain housing and employment. In this way, the criminalization of homelessness further entrenches a cycle of homelessness, poverty, and criminalization, the report argues. Details: New Haven, CT: Allard K. Lowenstein International Human Rights Clinic at Yale Law School, 2016. 70p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 21, 2016 at: https://www.law.yale.edu/system/files/documents/pdf/news/criminalization_of_homelessness_report_for_web_full_report.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: https://www.law.yale.edu/system/files/documents/pdf/news/criminalization_of_homelessness_report_for_web_full_report.pdf Shelf Number: 140217 Keywords: Homeless PersonsHomelessnessLoiteringPanhandlingVagrancy LawVagrants |
Author: Defence for Children International - Palestine Section Title: Children in the Street: The Palestinian Case Summary: The phenomenon of street children is considered to be the most important problem facing children today in both the developed and developing world. Accordingly, this phenomenon needs to be addressed and solved, lest it continue to threaten societies around the world. Though some variance exists, international organizations and bodies estimate that the global street child population ranges between 100 - 150 million children. The variance in population size is due to a number of factors: first, there is no common definition of "street children" that is endorsed by all the relevant actors; second, national governments often conceal the extent of the phenomenon in their respective countries, in order to avoid potential recrimination for not doing enough to address the issue; and third, the street child population is fluid, with street children travelling from one city to another and frequently not possessing identi.cation papers or birth certifcates. The phenomenon of street children is predominantly urban. The strong family ties and informal system of social protection upheld in rural areas usually keeps children off the streets, although many street children in the cities have migrated from rural areas to the cities individually or along with their families. There are a number of major factors that are believed to cause, or exacerbate, the problem of street children. They include: 1. Economic factors 2. Family relations 3. Poor education level of parents 4. Large family size 5. Migration from the villages to the city 6. Wars and natural disasters In Palestine, as in other locations, the size and extent of the street children phenomenon expands or contracts according to how one defines the problem. According to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) there are three categories of street children: children inhabiting streets, children working on the streets, and the children of street families. In order to analyse the extent of this phenomenon in Palestine, a pilot study was conducted in order to identify factors affecting the phenomenon and the characteristics of street children in Palestine. The study focused on investigating a group of children on the streets in different locations throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), including East Jerusalem. The data for the study was gathered through a questionnaire, which was based on a set of indicators and variables corresponding to the objectives of the study. The study aimed at addressing two main questions: - Does the phenomenon of street children exist in Palestine? - Who are the street children and what are their characteristics? The study targeted 120 children (below 18), including 74 children in the West Bank and 46 children in the Gaza Strip. The sample children were present in the following areas: around Israeli roadblocks and checkpoints located between the different Palestinian towns and cities; near border crossings (e.g. Jericho and Rafah); at traf.c lights; and in or near markets. The "street children" phenomenon in Palestine manifests itself through the presence of children in the streets for long hours, working, wandering, begging, loitering or playing. However, these children do not sleep on the streets. Their families are known to them, they have homes to go to, and they all maintain some level of relationship with their families. Based on the .ndings of the survey, it would be very rare to .nd a Palestinian child who had completely severed relations with his/her family. Of the total of 120 children surveyed, only ten children do not sleep regularly in their parents' home. However, this does not indicate that these children sleep on the streets: over half (6) sleep in the houses of their relatives. As the absence of housing and family ties are two of the main criteria in many of the de.nitions of "street children", the concept that most properly applies to the Palestinian case is "children in the street," rather than "street children." This being said, however, there are small numbers of children who do meet a strict de.nition of "street children", but the number of these children is insuf.cient to classify it a phenomenon. For example, of the 120 surveyed children, only 4 do not sleep regularly in their family home or with relatives: 1 sleeps in a school, 1 sleeps in a deserted place, and 2 sleep in public places. One of the key characteristics of children in the street in Palestine is that the majority work. Globally, child labour is believed to be a major issue related to the phenomenon of street children and a crosscutting relationship has been noted, where some street children are working children and some working children are street children. Child labour in Palestine is clearly linked to the poor economic situation brought about, primarily, by Israeli occupation policies. The annual report of the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) indicates that economic hardship is the main factor forcing families to send their children to work. According to PCBS, 71% of children in the labour market between the ages of 5 - 17 years work out of economic necessity. The factors affecting the existence of children in the street in Palestine as well as the factors affecting children while in the street are similar to those affecting children in many parts of the world (e.g. economic issues, difficulties in the home or with education, etc.) While not all children who qualify as "children in the streets" in Palestine are vulnerable to direct violence and exploitation, it is extremely important that those factors that do expose children to violence and exploitation be addressed as a means of eradicating the phenomenon of children in the street in Palestine. Details: Defence for Children International, 2007. 64p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 9, 2017 at: http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/864C6E78862058D9492572D600052C95-Full_Report.pdf Year: 2007 Country: Palestine URL: http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/864C6E78862058D9492572D600052C95-Full_Report.pdf Shelf Number: 131173 Keywords: Begging Homeless Children Homelessness LoiteringStreet Children |
Author: Ruan, Nantiya Title: Too High a Price: What Criminalizing Homelessness Costs Colorado Summary: Like most of America, Colorado faces a homeless epidemic. Amidst a stark rise in housing costs and equally sharp drop in available affordable housing, Colorado's cities struggle to address the overwhelming needs of its homeless residents. While professing a dedication to eliminating homelessness through homeless and poverty services, state actors continue to write, pass, and enforce local ordinances that criminalize life-sustaining behaviors. Laws that criminalize panhandling, begging, camping, sitting or lying in public, and vagrancy target and disproportionately impact residents that are homeless for activities they must perform in the course of daily living. This Report examines how laws criminalizing homeless people for being homeless have become widespread in Colorado. Through a comprehensive analysis of the enforcement of anti-homeless laws, this Report also examines the cost-economic and social-anti-homeless laws impose upon all Colorado citizens. In the process of examining trends across branches of government and across the state, we found similarities between the constitutional challenges to anti-homeless laws and other discriminatory legal frameworks that criminalized people for their identities or statuses. Ordinances punishing people without homes for behaviors necessary to their daily lived existence will soon become another chapter in a shameful history of invalidated laws, such as Anti-Okie Laws, Jim Crow Laws, "Ugly Laws," and Sundown Laws. Federal courts have begun to recognize the dubious constitutionality of anti-homeless laws, and, in turn, municipalities like Denver and Boulder have begun re-examining how they enforce anti-homeless ordinances. But the data still reveal a trend: a startling high number of ordinances enforced at an alarming rate which comes with a high price tag for Colorado. To analyze statewide trends, we identified 76 cities in Colorado based on population and geographic diversity, which represent roughly 70% of the state's population. We surveyed these 76 municipal codes and identified numerous anti-homeless ordinances that target those without homes, such as: sitting, sleeping, lying, or storing belongings in public prohibitions; restrictions on begging or panhandling; camping bans; loitering and vagrancy prohibitions; and trespass, park closure, and sanitation laws. Based on this research, we have come to following conclusions: - Colorado's 76 largest cities have 351 anti-homeless ordinances; - Cities criminalize homelessness in a variety of ways; - Adopted ordinances inspire similar ordinances in other municipalities; and - Ordinances lack clarity and obstruct government transparency and accountability From the 76 surveyed cities, we selected 23 cities for more in-depth research using Open Records Requests to examine how anti-homeless ordinances are enforced. We found: - Cities issue citations to homeless residents at a staggering rate. For example, 30% of all citations that Grand Junction issued are pursuant to an anti-homeless ordinance. Fort Collins issues citations to homeless individuals at the rate of two citations per homeless resident per year. Colorado Springs has doubled the rate at which they enforce anti-homeless ordinances between 2010 and 2014. - Many cities aggressively target homeless residents for panhandling and for trespassing. Fewer than half of the cities surveyed have restrictions on begging or panhandling, yet Denver arrested nearly 300 homeless individuals in 2014 for panhandling. Between 2013 and 2014, Denver issued over 2,000 trespass citations to homeless individuals. This represents more than half of all trespass citations in the city even though homeless residents are only 0.05% of the population. - Some cities use camping bans to target homeless residents. Boulder stands out in issuing camping ban citations by issuing 1,767 between 2010 and 2014-as compared with Denver, which issued fifteen in the same time frame, or Durango, which issued zero. Boulder issued camping ban citations at a rate of two citations per homeless resident. Eighty-seven percent of Boulder's camping citations were issued to homeless residents. - Several cities fail to track how anti-homeless citations are enforced against individuals who are homeless-this includes Durango, Pueblo, Colorado Springs, and Aurora. Because most cities also do not track "move on" orders, the data provided by the cities do not address how these widely used policing tactics impact homeless residents' lives. - Cities do not provide sufficient services for their homeless populations. For example, Fort Collins provides 118 shelter beds for over 400 homeless residents. On its best night, Boulder provides 280 beds for 440 homeless residents. Some cities, like Grand Junction, have limited services and publicize their attempts to deter people who are homeless from coming to their city. A major contribution of Too High A Price is that it comprehensively analyzes the cost of anti-homeless ordinances by calculating the cost of policing, adjudication, and incarceration. By studying the enforcement of five anti-homeless ordinances in Denver, we found that in 2014 alone, Denver spent nearly three-quarters of a million dollars ($750,000.00) enforcing these ordinances. We estimate that just six Colorado cities spent a minimum of five million dollars ($5,000,000.00) enforcing fourteen anti-homeless ordinances over a five-year period. For reasons discussed in the report, this number is significantly under-inclusive. Reducing or eliminating anti-homeless ordinances would achieve governmental goals of reducing ineffective spending; expanding efficient homelessness services and prevention; and reducing collateral consequences and implicit social costs associated with criminalizing homelessness. Too High A Price also includes seven separate City Spotlight Reports that takes a deeper dive into the criminalization of homelessness in the cities of Denver, Boulder, Colorado Springs, Durango, Fort Collins, Grand Junction, and Pueblo. With these case studies, this Report also shows that judicial action alone is not enough to stop the unconstitutional criminalization of homeless people. Despite recent court decisions invalidating panhandling ordinances as unconstitutional, Colorado cities enforce other more facially-neutral ordinances in a way that disparately impacts homeless people. Because so many cities have such ordinances, the Colorado state legislature must step in and enact legislation that establishes affirmative rights for homeless individuals at the state level. The Right to Rest Act, Colorado House Bill HB-16-1191, introduced by Representatives Salazar and Melton in February 2016, will help combat the disparate impact of these ordinances in Colorado's communities. Details: Denver: University of Denver Sturm College of Law, 2016. 60p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 9, 2018 at: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3169929 Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3169929 Shelf Number: 150125 Keywords: BeggingHomeless PersonsHomelessnessLoiteringPanhandlingVagrants |
Author: Ruan, Nantiya Title: Too High a Price 2: Move on to Where? Summary: Over two years have passed since the University of Denver Sturm College of Law's Homeless Advocacy Policy Project released its report, Too High a Price, detailing the tremendous expenditures Colorado cities make in an effort to criminalize homelessness. As Colorado housing costs continue to skyrocket, its homeless epidemic has grown as well. Unfortunately, state actors continue to write, pass, and enforce ordinances that criminalize some of our most basic, life-sustaining activities. Laws such as camping, sitting or lying in public, begging, and loitering disproportionately target behaviors associated with homelessness, leaving one of the state's most vulnerable populations living in fear. As a follow-up to Too High a Price, this Report details the increased efforts to criminalize homelessness in the state of Colorado. Through an examination of three of Colorado's most prominent cities, Denver, Boulder, and Colorado Springs, this Report highlights the stark rise in enforcement of anti-homeless laws, and the disproportionate and inhumane impact they have on the day-to-day lives of people experiencing homelessness. In the process of examining Colorado's ever-increasing criminalization of homelessness, we found that law enforcement frequently issues "move-on" orders to remove visible poverty from its city streets. A move-on order, also referred to as a police "street check," is a law enforcement technique used to further enforce certain ordinances, including camping bans. In lieu of issuing a citation or making an arrest, officers are directed to instruct homeless individuals, upon contact, to pack up their belongings and "move on" to somewhere else. At first glance, these move-on orders may seem like a viable alternative to outright issuing citations. However, with the extreme decline in affordable housing and the lack of emergency shelter space to accommodate Colorado's growing homeless population, these move-on orders leave homeless people with nowhere to go. Instead, they are merely pushed from one place to the next. To analyze the trends of criminalization of homelessness, we utilized Open Records Requests to obtain data detailing the enforcement of anti-homeless laws in Colorado Springs, Denver, and Boulder. This data revealed that Colorado cities have increased enforcement more than we anticipated. Furthermore, we researched the adverse effects move-on orders have on homeless populations. Based on this research and data, we came to the following conclusions: - The overall number of anti-homelessness ordinances has increased. Between Denver, Colorado Springs, and Boulder, there are at least thirty-seven ordinances that criminalize behaviors associated with people experiencing homelessness. Since Too High a Price was first released, Colorado Springs has added one new anti-homeless ordinance and Denver Law students found four additional ordinances in Denver. - Colorado Springs and Boulder have increased the number of citations issued under camping bans. In 2017, Boulder issued 376 citations under its camping ban ordinance. Of those 376 citations, an incredible 81.9% were issued to homeless individuals. Additionally, Colorado Springs increased its enforcement of its two camping bans by a staggering 545% over the span of three years. - Denver's use of move-on orders has skyrocketed at an alarming rate. In 2016 alone, Denver law enforcement made contact with over 5,000 people in move-on encounters. Denver police increased its contact with homeless individuals through the use of street checks by 475% in the span of three years. - The number of emergency shelter beds cannot accommodate Colorado's homeless population. In all three cities we surveyed, none provide enough beds to meet the needs of its homeless populations. In Colorado Springs, the number of year-round shelter space can only accommodate 38% of El Paso County's homeless population. Boulder has even fewer resources, with only enough beds for roughly 25% of its homeless population. Denver doesn't fare better, with the 2017 Point-in-Time count indicating that on a given night, nearly 1,000 homeless people sleep on the streets. - Move-on orders have overwhelming collateral consequences on homeless populations. The use of move-on orders has grave consequences on people experiencing homeless, including: pushing people to dangerous areas, pushing people farther away from vital resources, and causing adverse health effects. As homeless people are forced into the shadows, extremely harmful consequences usually follow. Beyond the lack of shelter space and affordable housing, and how criminalization makes homelessness harder to escape, the larger issue is this: why are we so uncomfortable with facing homelessness? Our parks are for everyone. Our streets are for public use. Our free speech rights allow for all citizens to ask for what they may need. We should not view visible poverty as something to be avoided at all costs-especially if that cost results in further degradation and ostracism. Despite some city officials acknowledging that issuing citations does nothing to solve the homeless crisis, our research reveals that city actors continue to criminalize homelessness. This Report concludes by offering suggested changes for Colorado cities moving forward. First, only through stopping the criminalization efforts will we begin to alleviate the vicious cycle of homelessness in Colorado. Colorado cities should repeal camping bans that merely criminalize the human necessity to sleep and rest, provide new resources to homeless populations such as twenty-four-hour restrooms, and invest in education efforts that promote the dignity of people in poverty. Trying to make homelessness invisible does nothing more than make homelessness inevitable. Details: Denver: University of Denver Sturm College of Law, Homeless Advocacy Policy Project, 2018. 47p. Source: Internet Resource: U Denver Legal Studies Research Paper No. 18-14: Accessed May 9, 2018 at: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3174780 Year: 2018 Country: United States URL: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3174780 Shelf Number: 150126 Keywords: Begging Homeless Persons Homelessness HousingLoiteringPanhandling Vagrants |
Author: Harman, Jennifer J. Title: A Study of Homelessness in Seven Colorado Jails Summary: "A Study of Homelessness in Seven Colorado Jails" surveyed 507 inmates in jails in Arapahoe County, the City and County of Denver, El Paso County, Larimer County, Mesa County, and Pueblo County. The sites were chosen because they represent a good cross-section of jurisdictions in Colorado that experience the impacts of homeless populations. The Division of Criminal Justice commissioned Eris Enterprises to conduct the study to provide data that may help answer questions being raised by law enforcement, legislators and community members in relation to a reported increase in the homeless population in major Colorado jails and in Colorado in general. The study examined the prevalence of risk factors associated with homelessness, the types and number of crimes committed, home state origin, why non-native inmates moved to Colorado, and what services inmates need to transition out of jail. In particular, the study sought to provide insight on one frequently posed question: is Colorado seeing an increase in homeless people moving to Colorado for legal marijuana and then committing crimes? SUMMARY OF RESULTS The study found that the majority of homeless who ended up in Colorado jails moved here prior to legalization of marijuana, and most moved here to escape a problem or be with family. More than one third of the homeless who moved to Colorado after legalization in 2012 reported legal marijuana as a reason that drew them to Colorado. However, only two individuals selected legal marjiuana as the only factor that drew them to Colorado. The study also found that homeless inmates reported higher rates of mental illness and were charged with significantly fewer violent crimes but significantly more drug and trespassing crimes than non-homeless inmates. Details: Denver: ColoradoDivision of Criminal Justice, 2018. 45p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 14, 2018 at:; https://cdpsdocs.state.co.us/ors/docs/reports/2018_Jail_Homelessness_Study.pdf Year: 2018 Country: United States URL: https://cdpsdocs.state.co.us/ors/docs/reports/2018_Jail_Homelessness_Study.pdf Shelf Number: 151128 Keywords: Homeless PersonsHomelessnessHousingJail InmatesJailsLoiteringMentally Ill PersonsPanhandling Vagrants |