The Intersection Between Structural Homelessness & Crime: A Spatial View of New York City

• In Event: Disorder and Perceptions of Crime

Abstract

Justice-involved individuals are confronted with a wide array of challenges in various life domains. The ability to secure housing is one of the main barriers to successful reintegration (National Research Council, 2014). The link between homelessness and crime, at both individual and community levels, has received limited attention in the criminological literature. Some research has highlighted the positive association between homelessness and neighborhood crime (Ee & Zhang, 2022). However, few, if any, studies have explored whether the concentration of homeless shelters in a given urban area contributes to neighborhood crime and disorder. This study draws on geospatial methods to map homeless shelters across all five boroughs of NYC. It examines the distribution of homeless shelters and provides a descriptive analysis of key indicators of crime and disorder (e.g., arrest rates, complaint rates) across these areas. The study also investigates how the concentration of homeless shelters is correlated with various indicators of social disorder. We discuss the benefits of bridging the gap between public health and criminological research.

Authors

• Allison M. Echeverria, CUNY Graduate Center / John Jay College of Criminal Justice

• Lila Kazemian, John Jay College of Criminal Justice