Do Criminalization Policies Impact Local Homelessness?

Abstract

Local criminalization policies draw on the logic of deterrence to levy costs on individuals who engage in behaviors that are closely associated with various public concerns, such as those criminalizing behaviors associated with homelessness, thereby potentially reducing community-level costs. Yet, it is unclear whether the presence of these policies can be relied upon to reduce the frequency of a social crisis within a local municipality. To answer this question, this article utilizes a difference-in-difference design to determine whether passing an ordinance criminalizing behaviors closely related to homelessness produces a subsequent long-term decrease in homelessness within a community, thereby generating the expected community-level cost savings. Contrary to the deterrence logic, the results indicate that these local criminalization ordinances cannot be relied upon to reduce the social crisis rate (i.e., the number of people experiencing homeless) and therefore do not provide the intended community-level benefit.