THE CRIMINALIZATION OF POVERTY
Criminalization means declaring certain behaviors and/or decisions illegal. Criminalizing poverty means declaring certain behaviors or decisions associated with poverty illegal. Poverty becomes criminalized when the government creates laws that disproportionately punish the homeless and street-involved.
According to the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness (COH), at least 235,000 people in Canada experience homelessness each year, and 35,000 Canadians experience homelessness each night.
In Ontario, the following regulations disproportionately target homeless and street-involved people:
- Regulations on the properties of the National Capital Commission and traffic on them: for example, possession of alcoholic beverages in contravention of the Regulations
- The Environmental Protection Act: such as littering
- Trespass to Property Act : Refusing to Leave Private Places
- The Liquor Licensing Act: Public Intoxication
- The Safe Streets Act of 1999: Aggressive Solicitation
The majority of Ontarians are not fined under these laws, but people experiencing homelessness or living on the streets are fined more frequently and disproportionately.
The criminalization of poverty is closely linked to the increasing regulation of public spaces. As governments enact laws governing behavior in public spaces, homeless people with no other place of destination or refuge are forced out of these public spaces. For example, when municipal governments regulate the hours people can be in a public park, those present in public parks outside of these hours will be evicted and fined beyond their means.
When a person lacks access to a fixed, stable home, they must rely on public spaces for their daily needs, such as sleeping, washing, eating, and drinking. If these public spaces are overly regulated, people who use these spaces out of necessity are targeted by police and security agents and punished for such activities.
Leilani Farha, the UN Special Rapporteur on adequate housing, said in a report regarding the criminalization of poverty: “Such laws are often framed under the umbrella of public health and safety, when in reality, their purpose is to ‘beautify’ an area and promote it for tourism, entrepreneurship, or even increase real estate values.”
Laws that criminalize poverty contribute to its cycles. Indebtedness and involvement in the criminal justice system are additional barriers to finding and maintaining employment and housing. Thus, regulating behaviors primarily observed among poor individuals only perpetuates rather than alleviates poverty, since the regulations prevent affected individuals from making choices and accessing services that seek to break the cycle of poverty.
In short, these regulations punish some of the most vulnerable people in our community. For these reasons, the PCC advocates for reform of laws that disproportionately affect those experiencing homelessness and poverty, as well as for increased funding for access to housing and services for those living with mental health and/or substance use disorders.
Suggested reading:
Suzanne Bouclin, « Regulated Out of Existence: A Case Study of Ottawa’s Ticket Defence Program » (2014) 11 Journal of Law and Equality 35-83.
Canadian Observatory on Homelessness, The State of Homelessness in Canada 2016.
John Rook and Samantha Sexsmith, “The Criminalization of Poverty” Crime Prevention: International Perspectives, Issues, and Trends. Edited by John A. Winterdyk. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 2017.
Jeremy Waldron “Homelessness and the Issue of Freedom” University of California L.A. Law Review, vol. 39, 1991-2.