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THE BRITISH COLUMBIA SAFE STREETS ACT AND THE LAW OF VAGRANCY: SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES by Christopher Tait B.A. (Hons.) Simon Fraser University, 2004 THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS In the School of Criminology © Christopher Tait 2008 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Summer 2008 All rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without permission of the author. Library and Archives Bibliothèque et Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de l’édition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre référence ISBN: 978-0-494-58607-5 Our file Notre référence ISBN: 978-0-494-58607-5 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non- L’auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant à la Bibliothèque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par télécommunication ou par l’Internet, prêter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des thèses partout dans le loan, distribute and sell theses monde, à des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non- support microforme, papier, électronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L’auteur conserve la propriété du droit d’auteur ownership and moral rights in this et des droits moraux qui protège cette thèse. Ni thesis. Neither the thesis nor la thèse ni des extraits substantiels de celle-ci substantial extracts from it may be ne doivent être imprimés ou autrement printed or otherwise reproduced reproduits sans son autorisation. without the author’s permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformément à la loi canadienne sur la Privacy Act some supporting forms protection de la vie privée, quelques may have been removed from this formulaires secondaires ont été enlevés de thesis. cette thèse. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans in the document page count, their la pagination, il n’y aura aucun contenu removal does not represent any loss manquant. of content from the thesis. APPROVAL Name: Christopher Tait Degree: MASTER OF ARTS Title of Thesis: The British Columbia Safe Streets Act and the Law of Vagrancy: Similarities and Differences. Examining Committee: Chair: Sheri Fabian Lecturer, School of Criminology _____________________________________________ Dr. Brian Burtch Senior Supervisor Professor of Criminology _____________________________________________ Prof. Neil Boyd Supervisor Professor of Criminology _____________________________________________ Mr. Hollis Johnson External Examiner Professor Kwantlen Polytechnic University Date Defended/Approved: _____________________________________________ ii Partial Copyright Licence I hereby grant to Simon Fraser University Library the right to lend my thesis, project or extended essay[s] (title[s] below) to users of the Simon Fraser University Library, and to make partial or single copies only for such users or in response to a request from the library of any other university, or other educational institution, on its own behalf or for one of its users. I further grant permission to Simon Fraser University Library to keep or make a digital copy for use in its circulating collection (currently available to the public at the “Institutional Repository” link of the SFU Library website <www.lib.sfu.ca> at: <http://ir.lib.sfu.ca/handle/1892/112>). I agree that SFU may, without changing the content, translate if technically possible, my thesis/project or extended essays to any medium or format for the purpose of preservation of the digital work. I further agree that permission for multiple copying of this work for scholarly purposes may be granted by me or the Dean of Graduate Studies. It is understood that copying, publication or public performance of this work for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. While licensing SFU to permit the above uses, I retain full copyright in my thesis, project or extended essays, including the right to change the work for subsequent purposes, including editing and publishing the work in whole or in part, and licensing other parties as I may desire. Multimedia Licence: Not applicable. A multimedia licence is not applicable to this work. No separate DVD or CD-ROM material is included in this work. or A DVD or CD-ROM is submitted as part of this work. A multimedia licence is required for this work, of which: Public performance is permitted: Multimedia materials that form part of this work are hereby licensed to Simon Fraser University for educational, non-theatrical public performance use only. This licence permits single copies to be made for libraries as for print material with this same limitation of use. Public performance is not permitted: Multimedia materials that form part of this work are hereby licensed to Simon Fraser University for private scholarly purposes only, and may not be used for any form of public performance. This licence permits single copies to be made for libraries as for print material with this same limitation of use. Title of Thesis/Project/Extended Essays: The British Columbia Safe Streets Act and the Law of Vagrancy: Similarities and Differences Author’s name and signature: Date signed: Declaration of Partial Copyright Licence The author, whose copyright is declared on the title page of this work, has granted to Simon Fraser University the right to lend this thesis, project or extended essay to users of the Simon Fraser University Library, and to make partial or single copies only for such users or in response to a request from the library of any other university, or other educational institution, on its own behalf or for one of its users. The author has further granted permission to Simon Fraser University to keep or make a digital copy for use in its circulating collection (currently available to the public at the “Institutional Repository” link of the SFU Library website <www.lib.sfu.ca> at: <http://ir.lib.sfu.ca/handle/1892/112>) and, without changing the content, to translate the thesis/project or extended essays, if technically possible, to any medium or format for the purpose of preservation of the digital work. The author has further agreed that permission for multiple copying of this work for scholarly purposes may be granted by either the author or the Dean of Graduate Studies. It is understood that copying or publication of this work for financial gain shall not be allowed without the author’s written permission. Permission for public performance, or limited permission for private scholarly use, of any multimedia materials forming part of this work, may have been granted by the author. This information may be found on the separately catalogued multimedia material and in the signed Partial Copyright Licence. While licensing SFU to permit the above uses, the author retains copyright in the thesis, project or extended essays, including the right to change the work for subsequent purposes, including editing and publishing the work in whole or in part, and licensing other parties, as the author may desire. The original Partial Copyright Licence attesting to these terms, and signed by this author, may be found in the original bound copy of this work, retained in the Simon Fraser University Archive. Simon Fraser University Library Burnaby, BC, Canada ABSTRACT North American cities have enacted legislation to counter panhandling and other income- generating activities of the visible poor. Anti-homeless laws are similar to earlier vagrancy laws in Western societies. This thesis addresses how British Columbia’s Safe Streets Act (BCSSA) compares with earlier vagrancy laws. A social constructionist perspective is combined with a content analysis of print media and provincial government debates available online. Government sources consisted of Provincial Legislature debates. The goal was to understand the social construction of the homeless problem through the BCSSA. Rhetoric employed in the social construction of the homeless problem was similar in that the homeless were characterized as a disruptive force and potential criminals. Alternative positions termed “pro-squeegee” were also identified in the data. Differences included a focus on exclusion from public spaces instead of idleness and lack of work, a wholly retributive response and a lack of a focus on general deterrence. Keywords: Social Construction; Safe Streets Act – British Columbia; Vagrancy – British Columbia; Squeegee Kids Subject Terms: Homelessness – British Columbia; Social Problems – Canada; Social Construction; Vagrancy – Canada iii QUOTATION Standing on the street just waiting for a bus This car pulls up, they’re giving me the sus1 He says “Hey sonny, I think you’re on our file, well you better come with us for awhile.” We got ya with sus You look too obvious You better come with us And don’t make no fuss We got ya with sus So they shake me down, try to make me look like a clown I just stare at the ground You better come with us (We got ya with sus) You look too obvious (You better come with us) And don’t make no fuss (Too obvious) You better come with us (Don’t make no fuss) We got ya with We got ya with sus … S.U.S. The Ruts The Crack (1979) © Virgin Records 1 Sus, an abbreviation of suspicion, is used here with reference to the so-called ‘sus law’ in Britain. Sus law enabled police officers to stop and search individuals on the basis of suspicion alone. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to the people who helped me throughout the completion of my thesis. A very special thank you to my senior supervisor, Dr.

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