Appendix B: Anti-Homeless Laws Q&A What kinds of “anti-homeless” laws exist across the United States?46
The Denver Camping Ban
The National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty (NLCHP) and the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) have summarized the numerous state and municipal laws criminalizing homelessness as fitting into 6 categories:
Laws making it illegal to sleep, sit, or store personal belongings in the public spaces of cities
Selective enforcement neutral laws, such as loitering, jaywalking, or open container ordinances against people who are experiencing homelessness.
Sweeps of areas in which homeless persons live
Enactment and enforcement of laws that punish people for begging or panhandling.
Laws that restrict groups from sharing food with homeless persons in public spaces.
Enforcement of “quality of life” ordinances related to public activities and hygiene (e.g. public urination)
How prevalent are anti-homeless laws throughout the United States? The NLCHP and the USICH have found that the number of and anti-homeless laws and their geographical distribution are steadily increasing. In 2009 the NLCHP surveyed 234 U.S. cities in order to gage the frequency of such laws and ordinances across the nation. The survey found:
The percentage of cities with laws criminalizing homelessness is significantly increasing 56% of cities prohibit loitering in particular areas 53 % of cities prohibit begging in particular public places, while 24% ban panhandling or begging citywide 40% of cities ban camping in particular public areas 33% of cities prohibit sitting and lying in particular places 22% of cities prohibit loitering citywide 16 % of cities enforce citywide camping bans 22% of cities prohibit loitering citywide
Are the laws being enforced? The NLCHP surveyed people experiencing homelessness across 26 states to better understand if these laws were being enforced. The study found that among all respondents:
72
73% reported being cited or arrested for public urination and/or defecation 55% reported being cited or arrested for camping or sleeping in public 55% reported being cited or arrested for loitering 53% reported being cited or arrested for panhandling 20% reported being cited or arrested for storing their belongings in public 19 % reported being cited or arrested for sitting on the sidewalk