The Substantive Criminalisation of Homelessness in Melbourne
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THE UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE ‘Swept Off the Streets’: The Substantive Criminalisation of Homelessness in Melbourne James William McRae Petty Submitted in total fulfilment of the requirements of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy January 2017 ORCID ID: 0000-0003-3285-1558 School of Social and Political Sciences (Criminology) Faculty of Arts University of Melbourne Produced on archival quality paper Abstract Poverty, nomadism and itinerancy have always posed problems for settled societies, problems that only intensified with the upheavals to social organisation wrought by global industrialisation. The modern manifestation of these qualities is homelessness. Strategies for the successful minimisation of rates of homelessness and mitigation of the harms (both individual and social) that arise from it are well established, yet these remain politically untenable in capitalist (and increasingly neoliberal) societies, and so their effectiveness is limited. However, state abandonment of the homeless is similarly untenable, and this results in strategies of governance that are limited in their capacity to address the challenges that it poses. This longstanding political impasse gives rise to the prevalent social belief that systemic homelessness is inevitable and those who experience it are at best feckless and idle, and at worst criminally deviant. This thesis maps out various facets of the socio-legal regulation of homelessness and the people who experience it. In short, it identifies the associative bonds that link homelessness to criminality. To achieve this, the thesis examines four key facets of the production of the homeless subject as ‘criminal’ and the regulatory responses that flow from this. First, the discursive production of homelessness as an individualised phenomenon determined by internal moral forces is addressed. The carceral and exclusionary histories of the regulation of poverty (namely, the legacy of Britain’s Poor Laws) are established before considering contemporary manifestations of the excluded homeless subject. Second, the issue of representation is addressed. I demonstrate that homelessness suffers from both over- and under-representation as a small yet highly visible minority (the ‘visibly homeless’) determine social attitudes, prevalent stereotypes and thus the shape and tenor of regulatory regimes. Obscured by the spectacle of the rough-sleeper is the large, shifting and inchoate population of the invisibly homeless and precariously housed. The visibility of the condition of the larger population is, I argue, managed (at least partly) to maintain i the conspicuousness of more visible manifestations and thus the hegemony of the stereotypes that attend them. Third, the spatial dynamics of homelessness are examined. How urban spaces are constructed for the benefit of the domiciled consumer-citizen and, more controversially, to the detriment of those without stable housing are revealed. The emplacement of social borders concerned with the propriety of certain types of mobility is analysed as is the policing of these borders. Lastly, the political isolation of the homeless subject is revealed through an analysis of various policies and political structures that, directly and indirectly, isolate, marginalise and penalise the homeless subject. This occurs through various methods such as laws criminalising begging, as well as through the legal sanctioning of certain lived modalities and ways of being and the corollary stigmatisation and regulation of others outside of this constructed hierarchy of value. This thesis thus identifies the hidden and dispersed means through which homeless people are subjected to coercive regulatory regimes. The severe alterity of the ‘homeless Other’ is not easily captured in a singular site of penality like laws banning begging. Instead, a more comprehensive account of the treatment of homelessness as a crimino-legal subject is required to explain the severe marginalisation, disenfranchisement and exclusion experienced by this diverse population. ii Declaration of Authorship This is to certify that: (i) the thesis comprises only my original world towards the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, (ii) due acknowledgement has been made in the text to all other material used, (iii) the thesis is less than 100,000 words in length, exclusive of tables, maps, bibliographies and appendices as approved by the Research Higher Degrees Committee. James William McRae Petty iii iv Acknowledgements The completion of this thesis coincides with two other significant milestones. A few months prior to submitting this thesis, I turned 30 years old and also became an uncle. In this sense, the thesis is tied to these events and is similarly marked with themes of transition, growing up and adulthood. Looking at the thesis, it is difficult to connect the finished product with its points of origin (of which there are many). Composing acknowledgements involves attempting to name and make clear myriad influences, processes and relationships that have contributed to and, in a sense, culminate in this document. To begin I would like to acknowledge the privilege of being able to partake of the opportunities of education at this level. I mean this doubly: it has indeed been an honour. But it is also the privileged conditions of my life that have enabled me to undertake this difficult task. Privilege, as I understand it, is linked to and contingent upon its opposite: disadvantage and the lack of opportunity this entails. The reason I have been able to conduct doctoral research at a world-renowned university in a stable and wealthy first-world nation is that most people do not have the same opportunity. So my first acknowledgement is of the highly contingent and unequally distributed conditions that have allowed me to complete this project. My second acknowledgement links to the first. It is to the population of people who form the object of my research: the homeless, the displaced, the precarious and the destitute. I hope that this thesis does not add to the already substantial stigmatisation or contribute to the considerable forces of social exclusion that you are routinely subjected to. There is something perverse in the act of research, where someone like me sits in an office thinking of novel ways to conceptualise of another’s marginality. It may seem superfluous to say, but this research could not have been occurred without your unsettled presence. The following people form the supportive struts on which this thesis rests and without whom I could not have completed it. v To my supervisors Professor Alison Young and Dr David McDonald, thank you for the guidance, patience, support and inspiration you have bestowed upon me. Your careful supervision and enduring faith in my capacities have kept me on track when my own faith and motivation were lacking. Your work continues to inspire me and I am honoured to have had such consummate researchers and writers as my mentors. Benjamin Riley, my philosophical and existential companion, thank you for sharing with me your interests and hardships and in turn allowing me to share mine. Your friendship, encouragement and occasional criticism (as well as your sterling proof-reading skills) are forever appreciated. To Dr Richie Robertson, your wisdom, empathy and counsel have not only contributed to this thesis, but have contributed to my life and being. Because of you I have a better understanding of myself and the world than I could have otherwise hoped for. I also offer my thanks to the following people who provided support and encouragement in many forms. David Baker, KJ Huck, Alex Heath, Oliver Cox, Sam Pearce, Ash McMaster, Charlton De Silva Quitoriano, Jessica O’Brien, Steven Gavan, Sara Hayat, Rebecca Goodbourn, Drew Echberg, Rebecca Newman and others too numerous to list. A special thank-you to three tutors from my undergraduate years Ruth Liston, Rebecca Hiscock and Dr Claire Spivakovsky who inspired and guided me then and continue to now. Special thanks to Caitlin Overington for being a co-traveller and companion through the pain and folly of doctoral research. You have been a sympathetic ear for troubles and a reliable sounding board for ideas. I look forward to our continuing friendship, opportunities for collaboration and further adventures as one another’s ‘conference-spouse’. I am also indebted to those who participated in interviews, thank you for contributing your time, your expertise and for not pointing out my naïveté. vi To my family – my mother Jane, father Kenneth, brothers Timothy and Jamie, Aunt Catherine and sister-in-law Nicole – your continuing love and support will not be visible on the pages of this thesis though the document is saturated with them. You are my home. Thank you also to my boyfriend, Timothy. We met during the course of this research and as such you have not known me as anything other than a PhD student, which has necessitated various concessions (mostly on your part). I look forward to exploring our relationship without the presence of this thesis – the third member of our relationship – constantly looming in the background. You are a constant source of love, inspiration and pride so encompassing they are like air. I promise to be as supportive and patient as you have been, should you decide to undertake doctoral research of your own. Lastly, to my excellent proof-readers (who knew I counted so many editors as friends!) Peter Saladino, Ashley McMaster, Jessica O’Brien, James Whitmore and Benjamin Riley. You leant your hands when I