Criminalization of Poverty Run Amok: 500 Anti-Homeless Laws in One State Alone

The criminalization of our most vulnerable in society is a tell-tale sign of the direction and thinking toward individuals who are down on their luck for whatever reason. States an policy directives aimed at eliminating or reducing these populations by criminalizing them and tossing them in the can, or removing the unwanted from their midst by using tactics to make illegal simple things such as providing food, camping or just resting in restricted areas.

Source

New research prepared for WRAP by the Policy Advocacy Clinic at the University of Berkeley School of Law details the impact criminalization has had on the homeless population in California, home to one in every five homeless people in the U.S. Researchers looked at a sample of 58 California cities and found 500 anti-homeless laws on the books—an average of nine laws per city. Each city has at least one code restricting daytime activities like resting, standing and sitting; 57 had codes restricting nighttime activities like sleeping, camping and lodging; 53 had codes restricting begging and panhandling; 12 had codes restricting food sharing. Some of these laws either overlap or criminalize the same action but in different locations.

It's a sad state of affairs when a societies elected politics go after the poor for pennies, when the elite whom rake in billions and break about every law known to man stand tall, without shame and little to no penalty.

a reply to: Daedal

The saddest part?

50% of the homeless are vets.

Some way to treat those who bled and then some, for what you call the Greatest Country in the World.

~Tenth

a reply to: Daedal

Any decent government would provide for the needs of it's less fortunate

What is a homeless person supposed to do ... they require help not labelled as criminals

I wonder how many affected are Vets...

Land of the Thief... Home of the Slave!




The Divided Kingdom is no better...
I'm equal opportunity Xenophobe...





Whadda You Think???

The moment prison became a profitable business and not a punishment for criminals, this was inevitable.

Unchecked overhead- we're all criminals now, they just have to decide if it makes more money to leave us to our jobs or lock us up in prison.

a reply to: CharlieSpeirs

Sad state of affairs.

The 2013 Annual Homeless Assessment
Report (AHAR) to Congress

In January 2013, 610,042 people were homeless on a given night. Most (65 percent) were living in emergency shelters or transitional housing programs and 35 percent were living in unsheltered locations.

• Nearly one-quarter (23 percent or 138,149) of all homeless people were children, under the age of 18. Ten percent (or 61,541) were between the ages of 18 and 24, and 67 perce

• There were 57,849 homeless veterans on a single night in January 2013. Sixty percent were located in shelters or transitional housing programs, and 40 percent were in unsheltered locations. Just under 8 percent (4,456) were female.
• Homelessness among veterans has declined each year since 2010. Between 2012 and 2013, veteran homelessness declined by 8 percent (or 4,770). Homelessness among veterans declined by 24 percent (or 17,760) between
2009 and 2013.

• There were 46,924 unaccompanied homeless children and youth on a single night in 2013. Most (87 percent or 40,727) were youth between the ages of 18 and 24, and 13 percent (or 6,197) were children under the age of 18.

• Half of unaccompanied children and youth (23,461 or 50 percent) were unsheltered in 2013.

a reply to: tothetenthpower

Almost unbelievable isn't it.



People complain too much imo...

They should be counting their blessings.



We need a broken heart emoticon!


On the flip side... We do have the Devil!


He would be proud!

a reply to: CharlieSpeirs

Well, as a silver lining, the report does conclude that homelessness rates were dropping between 2010 and 2013.

I suppose that could just that they messed up the math, or there are less homeless people willing to be counted.

Not sure.

~Tenth

originally posted by: tothetenthpower
a reply to: Daedal

The saddest part?

50% of the homeless are vets.

Some way to treat those who bled and then some, for what you call the Greatest Country in the World.

~Tenth

Cue the FEMA Camp deniers.

Many believe the rise in FEMA Camps are just waiting with their doors open. (One way of course)

I can see a lot of society that will be glad to have these unsightly criminals off the streets and put behind fences where they can do some good old fashioned State Sponsored Labor in exchange for free imprisonment.

Or maybe those camps are just waiting to be used as concentration camps for the upcoming WW3? Or both? Stay tuned!

The vets can't even fight the courts if they don't have an address or money right?

We are so screwed.

Peace

a reply to: tothetenthpower


A drop is always welcome...

But I have wonder how many in that percentage drop account for those who passed away for whatever reason...

a reply to: tothetenthpower

How do you count someone whose existence you have made illegal? Who would be counting them and how would they count them if they have to hide constantly or be arrested?

I don't think homeless numbers have dropped. I think these people have just become invisible or have been put in jail.

I see serious issues with data collection when it comes to numbering the homeless.

And I bet if you did a side by side in the number of homeless being counted and compared them to when laws started being enacted or enforced more heavily you would see a correlation. I will have to look up some charts later.

originally posted by: tothetenthpower
a reply to: CharlieSpeirs

Well, as a silver lining, the report does conclude that homelessness rates were dropping between 2010 and 2013.

I suppose that could just that they messed up the math, or there are less homeless people willing to be counted.

Not sure.

~Tenth

Either that or sitting in the pokey and can't be counted.

Around here, they're on every street corner.

They head north from Boston and congregate here because our taxes offer better shelters and food than Boston does.


We actually have a homeless epidemic, it's quite a thing.
I'd look for numbers on how many of them have wound up in a for profit prison system, but I'm afraid I might find what I'm looking for.


Tear it down...

GOTTA fill up them JAILS with more bodies,not ENOUGH law breakers.
Unless they look at DC but it's probably illegal.

a reply to: Daedal

You know what these low lives need to do is go get a job where they can work full time and put in overtime and work their way to the top at one of the local factories in town....

Oh wait...

Ok scratch that. these scumbags needs to go to Wal-mart, work 32 hours a week and apply for food stamps and rent a half a room out from another scumbag and wait until they die.

Losers.

a reply to: onequestion

I was super mad at you for a moment there.

I'm ok now lol

Agreed on all fronts.

~Tenth

a reply to: tothetenthpower

Haha.

yeah i just wanted to hit those key points real quick before someone riding a really high horse in shining armor came and started blaming poor people for poor people problems.

Its really hard to literally have nothing and just materialize opportunities in a world where millions and millions of people are looking for the same opportunities.

Why is this a surprise to people? Back in 1964 noted humanitarian, social softy and all around selfless guy Lyndon B. Johnson "declared WAR on poverty."

The words "declaration of war" is a very, VERY specific sequence of words which is NOT a euphemism for "gee I really want to help poor people a lot. " The phrase has a legal definition that means "war, and the suspension of all human rights in the process." Of all the possible phrases he could have used during his speech he selected this one, which means: The US has declared war on the impoverished. That phrase did not mean: The US has declared support and stability to those in need." If he had meant the US declared support and stability he would have SAID THAT! War, it only means one thing in the legal sense, only one.

The word WAR means something and it ain't "aid" or "support" or "help" or "compassion." It means those who have been declared the enemy have no rights. Now ask yourself this question and answer it honestly: Do the poor have protected rights in real estate, criminal actions and in city services? Do the poor have the same rights as the rich? Have the poor evolved since 1964 to a level where poverty is really an after thought in the US?

For 50 years the US has been at war with the poor, and it shows. In fifty years the poor have been charged BILLIONS of dollars to make them poorer. The poor, at the time, were poor but not in debt. Now they are all in debt and in dire straights and this was by design. The US has been in two declared wars, wars which were ushered in by the use of the term "declaration of war" and both have led to the suspension of the human rights afforded to them when not in war.

This is not a shock if you actually understand how the language works. It was put right in front of everyone to see in 1964, the sheeple simply heard "declare war" and decided, like idiots, to make it mean something else. Like saying, "you are about to be executed" means "I like your sweater".

In the world of legal language, and governmental "acts", which is how all governments operate, there are NO EUPHEMISMS, only words which have disguised meanings or in the case of "war" obvious meanings but there are NO euphemisms.

a reply to: CharlieSpeirs

Killer song reference, one of my favs.

I just found out my bro is living in his car and is dealing with this thought process right now.

Sad that people are all for these laws too.

a reply to: Daedal

Having been homeless myself years ago, I know what it is like. I also know what it's like for drunks who care nothing about doing anything for themselves. Some places you have to make laws....drugs, drinking, disorderly conduct, anywhere they congregate, mostly. I don't blame any of the cities for passing ordinances. The "will work for food" hustlers, panhandlers who are trying to get drinking or drug money, these are the kind of people who have to be dealt with, and people will not change their behavior until they are forced to.