A Qualitative Study: The Impact of Homelessness Criminalization on Unhoused Individuals Living in Los Angeles

Abstract

The growing number of homeless encampments and unhoused individuals living across major U.S. cities has promoted local governments to regulate public space and enforce conditions related to being homeless. Researchers and advocacy groups have criticized laws that essentially criminalize the state of being homeless in America for being punitive and ineffective in addressing homelessness. There is extensive literature pertaining to the harmful impact of homelessness criminalization by means of police enforcement, forced displacement, and incarceration. In recent years, Los Angeles County has initiated massive clearances of homeless encampments with the intent of housing the homeless and cleaning up the city. Relying on the data collected from 19 in-depth interviews with homeless individuals living in Downtown Los Angeles, this study reveals the nature of police-initiated encounters with homeless individuals, discovers how homeless criminalization impacts homeless individuals including their means of survival and ability to escape homelessness, and highlights the services, resources, and policies that can alternatively address homelessness. The results of this study indicate that homelessness enforcement and restrictive policies enacted by the Los Angeles City Council are ineffective at addressing homelessness by perpetuating additional challenges for unhoused individuals and negatively impacting their ability to become housed.