Vera Report Links Homelessness to the Criminal Justice System People without housing are 11 times more likely to be arrested and experience additional complications navigating the criminal justice system
NEW YORK, NY – In a report released today, the Vera Institute of Justice, with support from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, highlights the ways the homelessness crisis, now even more dire in the face of COVID-19, is perpetuated by a justice system that criminalizes survival behaviors, fails to account for the impossible odds after arrest, and increases obstacles for people experiencing homeless after release from jail.
On any given night in the United States, more than 550,000 people experience homelessness and because of punitive laws and enforcement practices, are 11 times more likely to be arrested. Homelessness is between 7.5 and 11.3 times more prevalent among the jail population, and can be higher in some places. A 2013 survey in San Francisco found that between 10 and 24 percent of people in jail identified as being homeless at the time of arrest.
“People experiencing homelessness face unique challenges in navigating the legal system. The lack of a stable mailing address to receive notification of court dates, exclusion from pretrial diversion programs due to lack of housing or employment, and inability to realistically abide by certain standard conditions of probation are just a few of the disadvantages people experiencing homelessness face once they are caught in the criminal legal system,” said Madeline Bailey, program associate in Vera’s Center on Sentencing and Corrections.
“As cities and counties look to reform their criminal justice systems to lower jail populations and address racial and ethnic disparities, examining the intersection of housing and the criminal justice system is a critical step. Instead of arresting and booking people who are without stable housing into jail for minor or nuisance offenses, communities should be offering these individuals help finding permanent and affordable housing, behavioral health services, and other assistance,” said Laurie Garduque, director of criminal justice at the MacArthur Foundation.
The link between homelessness and incarceration highlights the need for social services that protect the health, safety, and dignity of this population and other alternatives to frequent police contact.
