Citation

Fischer PJ. Hosp. Community Psychiatry 1988; 39(1): 46-51.

Affiliation

Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21205.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1988, American Psychiatric Association)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

3338727

Abstract

To illuminate the role of criminal activity among the homeless, particularly the homeless mentally ill, the author compared 634 arrests of homeless persons with 50,524 arrests in the general population that were made in Baltimore in 1983. Significant differences were found in the demographic characteristics of the two groups of arrested persons and in the types of offenses prompting the arrests. Among the homeless, those arrested were more likely to be male, white, and over age 45 and to have committed trivial, victimless crimes. Evidence suggests that ostensibly serious offenses such as assault, larceny, and burglary charged to homeless persons tended to involve petty thievery, entry into vacant buildings, and other acts aimed at maintaining subsistence in the absence of housing.

Language: en