The question whether homeless people are dangerous is an important one, on different grounds. Homelessness keeps rising; little shabby tents keep popping up in places where they were previously not. And unhoused people are not the best looking people around town. They don’t enjoy the same amenities or states of mind as the general public. So, can people without homes be dangerous, or are they actually menacing? And what is the link between homelessness and crime?
Are Homeless People Dangerous?
There are different aspects and security concerns from physical security to medical safety with regards to this question. These have been outlined below. Much of what the article is is the link between homelessness and crime.
Substance Abuse and Mental Illness
Substance abuse and mental illness are both consequences as well as causes of homelessness. This is important given the fact that people without accommodations either lose their homes over addiction or mental issues, or they become addicted, or develop mental disorders due to the adverse and aversive reality of homelessness.
In 2017, the National Coalition for the Homeless found that 38% of homeless people depend on alcohol, while 26% depend on other substances. And, 68% of U.S. cities report that addiction is their single largest cause of homelessness. Further, about 30% of chronically homeless people have some sort of mental health condition
What does this information mean for you? A person who is a chronic user of substances to the degree that they lost their home with all the comfort it comes with, and a person who became unhoused over mental instability are not the best persons to trust with regards to security. As for those that developed the habit only after becoming rough sleepers, one may still not bank on them on the given question.
However, the tendency of violence or some vicious act is not a constant outcome of substance abuse or mental instability in homeless persons. Apart from the fact that the degree of abuse and the mental state of a victim matter, people are also different and some people, irrespective of their level of substance abuse or mental state, may not be capable of violence or vice.
While homeless people have been reported to do certain things such as vandalize one another’s properties, and sexually abuse vulnerable homeless women and youths, they are not a vicious, alarming or imminent threat to the general public. And lastly, no claim is made that people living in the streets are all capable or involved in the acts touched on above; and also, no suggestion was made that they don’t need succour. Homeless people still need help.
Relations of the General Public with the Homeless
While unhoused people arouse sympathy and get charitable acts from kind people, everyone isn’t kind towards them. We have written extensively on the nature of the treatments homeless people get from different people. Here, the anti-social experience will be touched on.
People living outside are by far more vulnerable to abuse and full-on violence than the general public. People experiencing homelessness report that passersby and others verbally abuse, kick or assault them, in the open streets, whether they’re awake or asleep. There have also been reports of fatal violence on unaccommodated people.
In March 2023, it was reported that a homeless man sitting on a roadside curb in St. Louis was shot dead.
A homeless man in the UK, Dave, tells how he was mauled: “I got kicked in the face while sleeping in a shop doorway in the town centre. I couldn’t believe the state of my face when I finally got ’round to looking at myself in a mirror.” Dave also talked about kindness towards the unhoused, “As for life on the streets, ignorance is the worst thing but being acknowledged is nice.”
In seeking safe places to sleep, some homeless people sometimes break into people’s houses.
In July 18, 2022, Sahara Reporters reported that Peace Ofoego, a homeless Nigerian woman was breaking into multiple Hamptons mansions to try and take a nap.
In July 5, 2022, KGW8 reported that homeless people repeatedly break into North Portland apartment building.
“They are shooting up in the common bathrooms. They’re using the kitchens. They’re sleeping on the stairs. They’re bringing their animals in,” said Esperanza Bohorquez, who has lived in the building for about two years. She pays about $1,000 a month for a one-bedroom. “It makes me want to cry,” Bohorquez said through tears. “I lost everything. I had to sell my food stamps to get diapers.”
What does this information mean for you? Apart from homeless people breaking into people’s buildings for a safe sleep, there’s also the possibility of reprisal as hostility begets hostility. The world being unkind to homeless individuals may be teaching them that that is the way to behave, or may provoke them to return the same behaviours to the group of people who carry them out on them.
We’re not claiming that this is the case. It is only common sense. The general thumb here is be wary, but do not hate, just as you wouldn’t hate the general public because some people commit crimes.
Lack Associated with Chronic Homelessness
Homelessness is primarily caused by poverty and poverty is associated with lack. With chronically homeless people, this lack gets worse as they are usually unemployed. They depend on hand-outs and alms. When some unhoused people don’t get these, they may look into waste places for useful items.
However, when some rough sleepers have come to a cul de sac or a deadend, they may get involved in vicious acts such as burglary. This is a possibility, and not the 100% outcome to complete lack.
What does this information mean for you? Do not get a home where a significant number of homeless people live, as there’d be a likelihood of some unhinged homeless person(s) burgling it. However, if you already live in such an environment, you may prepare in different ways, by tightening their security or installing a CCTV camera et cetera.
It is also important to note that homeless people do not have access to the best hygiene and/or medical care. Definitely still reach out to them. However, mind the extent of your physical interaction(s) with them, for your medical safety.
The State of the Mind of Homeless People
Homelessness, with all the oddities victims experience, can dehumanize an individual. Homeless people do not only experience devastation, alienation, self-pity et cetera. They also lose pride and shame.
Worse is the mental state of the homeless. It has been mentioned previously that a staggering number of homeless people are experiencing mental illness. Whether it’s a medically detectable mental illness or a degenerate state of mind, homelessness can result in savagery.
In April 6, 2016, The Whistler reported that a seemingly homeless man broke into people’s homes at night, and tickled their anuses while they slept. The criminal was held in Dallas County.
Crimes by Homeless People
According to ABC News, incidents of violent crimes by homeless people grab headlines. They specifically report that, “In Los Angeles… a 70-year-old nurse was killed during an alleged random assault by a homeless man at a bus stop on Jan. 13, and just two days later, a homeless man allegedly fatally pushed a woman onto New York City subway tracks.”
Conclusion
The adversities that come with homelessness can cause the unhoused to do some unacceptable things, as there’s a relationship between homelessness and crime. It is said that a hungry man is an angry man. But, in the case of the homeless, their situation is worse than just hunger. It goes from stack lack through anti-social experiences to fatal violence. Homelessness may cause desperation and corollary actions.
It must be categorically stressed, however, that the vicious description here doesn’t include all the people without homes.
Many researchers say that homeless populations are often wrongly perceived as inherently dangerous and this stigma will only exacerbate ongoing issues of homelessness and poverty.
What the totality of this information means for you is that it is safe to be wary of the homeless population, but not to hate them or withdraw help from them, as they were once having normal lives. It also means that one must never become homeless. Efforts start from being disciplined and avoiding poverty, life-changing injuries, loss of job, addiction, domestic conflicts, the lack of a network of friends and family, substance abuse and mental illness, et cetera.
