Care, Control, Or Criminalization? Discourses on Homelessness and Social Responses
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Old Dominion University ODU Digital Commons Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations Sociology & Criminal Justice Fall 2016 Care, Control, or Criminalization? Discourses on Homelessness and Social Responses Lindsey L. Upton Old Dominion University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/sociology_criminaljustice_etds Part of the Criminology Commons Recommended Citation Upton, Lindsey L.. "Care, Control, or Criminalization? Discourses on Homelessness and Social Responses" (2016). Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Dissertation, Sociology & Criminal Justice, Old Dominion University, DOI: 10.25777/q5an-ey21 https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/sociology_criminaljustice_etds/9 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Sociology & Criminal Justice at ODU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ODU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. CARE, CONTROL, OR CRIMINALIZATION? DISCOURSES ON HOMELESSNESS AND SOCIAL RESPONSES by Lindsey L. Upton B.S. May 2009, Iowa State University M.S. May 2011, Eastern Kentucky University A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of Old Dominion University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY CRIMINOLOGY AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE OLD DOMINION UNIVERSITY December 2016 Approved by: Ruth A. Triplett (Director) Randolph R. Myers (Member) Travis W. Linnemann (Member) ABSTRACT CARE, CONTROL, OR CRIMINALIZATION? DISCOURSES ON HOMELESSNESS AND SOCIAL RESPONSES Lindsey L. Upton Old Dominion University, 2016 Director: Dr. Ruth A. Triplett There has been a resurgence of political and media interest in homelessness, particularly in major urban areas throughout the United States. This interest is credited to a number of cities that declared a State of Emergency (SOE) due to their homelessness crisis in 2015. The motivation to declare homelessness as an urgent priority of local politics assists cities in temporarily overcoming longstanding budget and bureaucratic barriers. Undoubtedly, the criminal justice system is part of social response following a declared SOE, and homelessness is not an exception. Little attention has explored the historical, social, and political processes of problematizing homelessness from a criminological perspective. Drawing on theoretical insight from David Garland, Jonathan Simon, and Loïc Wacquant, the politics of homelessness and crime found in New York City (NYC) is interrogated through discourses in the New York Times (NYT) from 1970-2012. This research examines how talk about homelessness responses creates, enacts, and enforces technologies of the criminal justice system. This study finds the politicization of homelessness over time produces and legitimates increased controls and management of marginalized groups, where state authorities are experts, and the boundaries of care and criminalization are blurred. This study has implications for the management of homelessness and policies that further socially exclude the homeless from overcoming such conditions. iii Copyright©, 2016, by Lindsey L. Upton, All Rights Reserved. iv This dissertation is dedicated to my mother, Jody, who emphasized creativity, critical thought, and the importance of education in order to create a life dedicated to the pursuit of social justice. v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS A great many people have contributed to the production of this dissertation. I owe my gratitude to colleagues, family, and friends who helped shape my graduate experience. My deepest gratitude is to my advisor, Dr. Ruth Triplett. I have been incredibly fortunate to have an advisor who gave me the freedom to explore my ideas and provide guidance towards clarity and structure. Her patience and support helped me further develop as a scholar while appreciating the process. Drs. Randy Myers and Travis Linnemann have made an imprint on my professional development, well beyond work on the dissertation. Their advice is always insightful and thought provoking. My sincerest gratitude to my rockstar committee; to all, I am eternally grateful. To my colleagues at ODU and EKU, many to whom I am fortunate to call friends and a second family, you are also key to the completion of this project. Your support, compassion, and acceptance came at times when I needed it most. Importantly, I am incredibly thankful to my partner, Travis, for the ways our paths continued to cross over the years, for the patience and support provided through some of my toughest moments, and for the many ways you have helped me grow personally and professionally. Importantly, I thank my siblings, parents, and grandparents for the ways their voices have shaped my own. The continued personal sacrifice and inspiration by each member empowered me to operate beyond defined boundaries and without sacrificing self. I am eternally grateful to all of them, for they are my anchor through school and life. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................... 1 II. LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................................................................... 9 THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF SOCIAL PROBLEMS ........................................ 10 UNDERSTANDING HOMELESSNESS ......................................................................... 12 HOMELESSNESS IN CONTEXT OF CRIME AND POVERTY .................................. 14 UNDERSTANDING PUNITIVENESS AND INSECURITY ......................................... 15 GARLAND’S CULTURE OF CONTROL ...................................................................... 17 SIMON’S GOVERNING THROUGH CRIME ............................................................... 19 WACQUANT’S PUNISHING THE POOR ..................................................................... 20 THIS STUDY .................................................................................................................... 22 III. METHOD AND DATA .......................................................................................................... 23 RESEARCH DESIGN ...................................................................................................... 23 DISCOURSE ANALYSIS ................................................................................................ 24 FOUCAULDIAN DISCOURSE ANALYSIS .................................................................. 25 PARAMETERS OF THE STUDY ................................................................................... 28 DATA ................................................................................................................................ 30 CODING ........................................................................................................................... 32 SUMMARY OF DESIGN, DATA, AND ANALYSIS .................................................... 34 IV. GENTRIFICATION AND DISPLACEMENT IN THE 1970s .............................................. 36 GENTRIFYING GREENWICH VILLAGE AND NOHO .............................................. 39 SOLUTIONS FOR HOUSING ISSUES ........................................................................... 45 DETERIORATING SPACES IN NYC ............................................................................ 53 DETERIORATING YOUTH ............................................................................................ 56 CONSTRUCTIONS OF THE HOMELESS OTHER ...................................................... 61 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................. 63 V. THE POLITICIZATION OF HOMELESSNESS DURING THE 1980s ................................ 65 END S.R.OS AND CLEAN UP SHELTERS ................................................................... 68 FORMAL ACTION TO END S.R.OS IN NYC ............................................................... 72 HOUSING ASSISTANCE AND THE HOMELESS OTHER ......................................... 73 SHELTERS OUTSIDE THE CITY LIMITS .................................................................... 75 REVIVING THE STREETS THROUGH JOBS AND JUSTICE .................................... 76 BARRIERS FACED IN FINDING SOLUTIONS ........................................................... 78 SECURITIZING SHELTERS ........................................................................................... 81 POLICING THE HOMELESS CRIMINAL OTHER ...................................................... 85 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................. 89 vii Chapter Page VI. EXPANDING SOLUTIONS TO HOMELESSNESS AND CRIME IN THE 1990s ............ 92 THE DINKINS ADMINISTRATION .............................................................................. 95 THE DINKINS ADMINISTRATION’S RESPONSE ..................................................... 99 MILITARIZING SHELTERS AND MOBILIZING CITIZEN POLICING .................. 103 POLICING THE HOMELESS CRIMINAL OTHER .................................................... 106 OPERATING ON “GIULIANI TIME” .......................................................................... 111 RESISTING GIULIANI’S PRACTICES ....................................................................... 114 ASSIGNING RESPONSIBILITY IN HOMELESSNESS RESPONSE