Homelessness and Contact with the Criminal Justice System: Insights from Specialist Lawyers and Allied Professionals in Australia
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University of New South Wales
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University of Wollongong Australia
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The University of Queensland Australia
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University of Technology Sydney Australia
Abstract
Lawyers and allied professionals who have experience supporting, advising and representing people experiencing homelessness are uniquely placed to identify problems with the operation of the criminal justice system—from policing to courts to punishment—and to conceive reform options. This article reports the findings of qualitative interviews with lawyers and allied professionals in all Australian states and territories. Participants identified multiple points where decisions about criminal law enforcement fail to take adequate account of the complex factors that underlie ‘offending’ by people experiencing homelessness, producing outcomes that exacerbate disadvantage. They advanced a range of proposals for reform directed at breaking the nexus between homelessness and criminalisation, including re-conception of the role of police, adoption of therapeutic jurisprudence (or ‘solution-focused’) models in criminal courts, and major changes to the use of fines as a criminal punishment.
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Author Biographies
AustraliaProfessor Luke McNamara is Co-Director of the Centre for Crime, Law and Justice, Faculty of Law, University of New South Wales, Australia. His current research examines the patterns, drivers, modalities and effects of criminalisation as a public policy tool, with a focus on regulation of behaviours and activities in public places.
Associate Professor, School of Law, University of Wollongong
Professor, TC Beirne School of Law, The University of Queensland
Professor of Law, University of Technology Sydney.