Criminalization of poverty

The criminalization of poverty refers to the systemic practices and policies that disproportionately penalize individuals for behaviors associated with their economic status. This phenomenon manifests through various legal and social mechanisms that enforce penalties on those who are unable to meet basic needs due to poverty, leading to a cycle of criminalization and further marginalization. ^{[1] [2]} Examples include fines and fees that the person is unable to pay, ^[3] anti-homelessness laws and actions, ^[4] and interconnections between welfare and criminal law. ^[5]

In the United States

In 2024, the United States Supreme Court held in City of Grants Pass v. Johnson that an ordinances that criminalized camping on public property was constitutional.

In 2025, the Fremont, California city council voted to criminalize ‘aiding’ and ‘abetting’ homeless camps. ^{[6] [7]} The ordinance was later revised removing the clause that could have punished those  “aiding and abetting” encampments ^[8]

See also

• Debtors' prison
• Cycle of poverty
• Poverty industry
• Decriminalization

References

1. Larrison, Christopher R. (2020). "The Criminalization of Poverty". Social Work, Criminal Justice, and the Death Penalty (1st ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0-19-093723-2.
2. Edelman, Peter (2022). "Criminalization of Poverty: Fines, Fees, Money Bail and Much More". The Routledge Companion to Media and Poverty (1st ed.). New York: Routledge. p. 11. doi:10.4324/9780429291333-37. ISBN   9780429291333.
3. Pager, Devah; Goldstein, Rebecca; Ho, Helen; Western, Bruce (2022). "Criminalizing Poverty: The Consequences of Court Fees in a Randomized Experiment". American Sociological Review . 87 (3): 529–553. doi:10.1177/00031224221075783. S2CID   247038184.
4. Herring, Chris; Yarbrough, Dilara; Marie Alatorre, Lisa (2019). "Pervasive Penality: How the Criminalization of Poverty Perpetuates Homelessness". Social Problems . 67 (1): 131–149. doi:10.1093/socpro/spz004.
5. Gustafson, Kaaryn (2008–2009). "The Criminalization of Poverty". Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology. 99 (3): 643.
6. "California city criminalizes 'aiding' and 'abetting' homeless camps | CNN". lite.cnn.com. Retrieved 2025-03-09.
7. Kendall, Marisa (2025-02-13). "California city makes 'aiding' or 'abetting' a homeless camp illegal". CalMatters . Retrieved 2025-03-09.
8. Procter, Richard (2025-03-05). "Bay Area city backs down after proposing ban on 'aiding and abetting' homeless encampments". CalMatters . Retrieved 2025-03-09.

Further reading

• Curto, Goergina; Kiritchenko, Svetlana; Nejadgholi, Isar; Fraser, Kathleen C. (2023). "The crime of being poor". arXiv: 2303.14128 [cs.CL].
• Edelman, Peter (2019). Not a Crime to Be Poor: The Criminalization of Poverty in America. The New Press. ISBN   978-1-62097-553-4.
• Gustafson, Kaaryn S. (2011). Cheating Welfare: Public Assistance and the Criminalization of Poverty. NYU Press. ISBN   978-0-8147-3291-5. JSTOR   j.ctt9qfttq.
• Wacquant, Loïc (2009). Punishing the Poor: The Neoliberal Government of Social Insecurity. Durham: Duke University Press. ISBN   978-0-8223-4422-3.