Homelessness, Victimization and Crime: Knowledge and Actionable Recommendations
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
ARCHIVED - Archiving Content ARCHIVÉE - Contenu archivé Archived Content Contenu archivé Information identified as archived is provided for L’information dont il est indiqué qu’elle est archivée reference, research or recordkeeping purposes. It est fournie à des fins de référence, de recherche is not subject to the Government of Canada Web ou de tenue de documents. Elle n’est pas Standards and has not been altered or updated assujettie aux normes Web du gouvernement du since it was archived. Please contact us to request Canada et elle n’a pas été modifiée ou mise à jour a format other than those available. depuis son archivage. Pour obtenir cette information dans un autre format, veuillez communiquer avec nous. This document is archival in nature and is intended Le présent document a une valeur archivistique et for those who wish to consult archival documents fait partie des documents d’archives rendus made available from the collection of Public Safety disponibles par Sécurité publique Canada à ceux Canada. qui souhaitent consulter ces documents issus de sa collection. Some of these documents are available in only one official language. Translation, to be provided Certains de ces documents ne sont disponibles by Public Safety Canada, is available upon que dans une langue officielle. Sécurité publique request. Canada fournira une traduction sur demande. HOMELESSNESS, VICTIMIZATION AND CRIME: Knowledge and Actionable Recommendations Institute for the Prevention of Crime www.prevention-crime.ca Acknowledgements This report was prepared for the Homelessness Partnering Strategy and received funding from the National Research Program of the National Homelessness Initiative. The research and recommendations are that of the Institute for the Prevention of Crime (IPC) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Housing and Homelessness Branch. The report was authored by Ben Roebuck, research assistant at the Institute for the Prevention of Crime and PhD candidate in the Department of Criminology. Thanks to Holly Johnson, Derek Janhevich and Tim Aubry for their input into this report and to the research participants for their time and valuable insights. HOMELESSNESS, VICTIMIZATION AND CRIME: KNOWLEDGE AND ACTIONABLE RECOMMENDATIONS www.prevention-crime.ca TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary ....................................................................................................................................3 Sommaire ....................................................................................................................................................5 I. INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................9 II. METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................................................10 Definitions of homelessness .............................................................................................................11 III. A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF HOMELESSNESS IN CANADA ......................................................12 Costs of homelessness ......................................................................................................................13 IV. VICTIMIZATION ........................................................................................................................14 Victimization as a risk factor for homelessness .................................................................................14 Victimization of children, youth, and women .................................................................................14 Victimization following homelessness ..............................................................................................15 Homeless women ..........................................................................................................................17 V. HOMELESSNESS AND THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM .................................................18 Homelessness as a risk factor for incarceration .................................................................................18 Incarceration as a risk factor for homelessness ..................................................................................18 Interactions with the police .............................................................................................................20 Mental illness, homelessness, and criminal justice ...........................................................................21 VI. OFFENCES COMMITTED BY HOMELESS PEOPLE...............................................................23 Drug-related crime ..........................................................................................................................24 Criminal offending by homeless youth ............................................................................................24 Municipal bylaws and ticketing .......................................................................................................25 VII. HOMELESSNESS AS PUBLIC DISORDER ................................................................................26 VIII. ACTIONABLE RECOMMENDATIONS ....................................................................................28 Housing and supports .....................................................................................................................28 Homelessness and victimization ......................................................................................................30 Homelessness and crime ..................................................................................................................32 IX. REFERENCES ...............................................................................................................................34 APPENDIX A: LIST OF PARTICIPANTS .............................................................................................38 HOMELESSNESS, VICTIMIZATION AND CRIME: KNOWLEDGE AND ACTIONABLE RECOMMENDATIONS www.prevention-crime.ca Executive Summary Un sommaire exécutif suit en français This report examines how victimization contributes treatment, police intervention, and incarceration. to homelessness and how subsequent victimization These costs continue to increase and some studies may result from living on the streets. It reviews have estimated that homelessness costs Canadian the types of crimes committed by homeless people, taxpayers 1.4 billion dollars each year. and why homeless people are incarcerated. It also identifies factors through which incarceration raises Compared to the housed, homeless people have more the risk of homelessness for vulnerable populations. often been the victims of physical and sexual abuse as children and victims of family violence and spousal The report identifies the main conclusions from assault as adults. Those without adequate shelter are the literature review. It also reports on actionable more likely than the housed to be victims of violence recommendations from semi-structured interviews and, for women, victims of sexual assault. They are held with community safety coordinators, city also more likely to be Aboriginal. housing staff, academics, service providers, and community action groups from eight Canadian A high proportion of homeless youth have been in cities: Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Regina, custody in child welfare or correctional systems. Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver. They are often released without adequate planning for housing. Their history of victimization in the Main findings from family is rarely addressed. literature review A high proportion of adult homeless people have In 1998, the mayors of some of the largest cities in been incarcerated. Some are treated without respect Canada declared homelessness a national disaster. by the police. A high proportion suffers from mental Since then, studies conducted in a number of disorders and addictions which are not treated in Canadian cities provide evidence that the number the prison systems. A prison sentence jeopardizes of homeless people on the streets is increasing and, housing arrangements and increases vulnerability to consequently, that the demands on shelters and other homelessness once released. services can be expected to rise. Homeless individuals are more likely to engage in The costs of homelessness include expenses associated criminal activity, and are more likely to be charged with shelters, emergency rooms, ambulances, with minor property offences, drug offences, and paramedics, social workers, substance abuse violations of by-laws compared to those with a 4 HOMELESSNESS, VICTIMIZATION AND CRIME: KNOWLEDGE AND ACTIONABLE RECOMMENDATIONS fixed address. Homeless people who suffer from 2) Homelessness and victimization addictions are more likely to be involved in drug- • Improve release mechanisms, support and victim related crimes as well as minor property crimes to assistance for youth in care; feed their addictions. They are more likely than the • Invest in programs to help at-risk youth to stay in housed to be incarcerated for similar offences. school and acquire life skills; • Improve mental health services for those with Actionable recommendations persistent mental illness; • Invest in the prevention of family violence and The semi-structured interviews with municipal violence against women; and, policy makers, experts, and practitioners identified • Educate the public about homelessness.