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Complaint-Oriented “Services†: Shelters as Tools for Criminalizing Homelessness

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  • Chris Herring

Abstract

This article argues that the expansion of shelter and welfare provisions for the homeless can lead to increased criminalization of homeless people in public spaces. First, I document how repression of people experiencing homelessness by the police in San Francisco neighborhoods increased immediately after the opening of new shelters. Second, I reveal how shelter beds are used as a privileged tool of the police to arrest, cite, and confiscate property of the unhoused, albeit in the guise of sanitary and public health initiatives. I conclude by considering how shelters increasingly function as complaint-oriented “services,†aimed at addressing the interests of residents, businesses, and politicians, rather than the needs of those unhoused.

Suggested Citation

  • Chris Herring, 2021. "Complaint-Oriented “Services†: Shelters as Tools for Criminalizing Homelessness," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 693(1), pages 264-283, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:anname:v:693:y:2021:i:1:p:264-283
    DOI: 10.1177/0002716221996703
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Ryan Finnigan, 2021. "The Growth and Shifting Spatial Distribution of Tent Encampments in Oakland, California," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 693(1), pages 284-300, January.
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    1. Katherine M. O’Regan & Ingrid Gould Ellen & Sophie House, 2021. "How to Address Homelessness: Reflections from Research," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 693(1), pages 322-332, January.

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