...The Criminalization Of Homelessness 150 million people in the world are estimated to be homeless. However, 1.6 billion, more than twenty percent of the world’s population lacks adequate housing. Inadequate housing contends to be housing that exists in poor conditions, unsafe or situated in a high density area. By definition a person experiencing homelessness contends to be an individual without permanent housing who may live on the streets; stay in a shelter, mission, single room occupancy facilities, abandoned building or vehicle; or in any other unstable or non-permanent situation. Homelessness in the United States and around the globe continues growing at an increasingly fast pace. The criminalization of homelessness refers to measures that prohibit life-sustaining activities such as sleeping/camping, eating, sitting, and/or asking for money/resources in public spaces. These ordinances include criminal penalties for violations of these acts. The criminalization of homelessness contends to be an erroneous method of response to the growing crisis of homelessness because it violates human rights, laws criminalizing homelessness are counter productive, and it contends to be an inefficient allocation of resources II. Counter Argument...
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...means by “mass incarceration” (41). Rios declares that his article “is to account for the social effects of mass incarceration and the criminalization of young males of color” (41). Based on the evidence he provides, what are those “social effects”? What does Victor Rios mean when he writes “These young adult deviants do not become on their 18th birthday, rather they are systematically constructed as criminals and face the wrath of the penal state and criminalization as early as 8 years of age” (41). In what ways do you think this statement is true or false? Fully explain your answer. Rios discloses that Black and Latino youth have been labeled “deviant” (41). From his explanations, why are they labeled this way, and how does this label affect them? How do the problems they face in the job sector (Rios 42) account for how young Black and Latino males may view their future outcomes? Identify the reason/reasons that the 28 non-violent offenders were treated in similar ways to Tyrone and Jose: the two violent offenders (Rios 43). Explain what Jonathan Simon means by "crisis of ‘governance’" (43). Explain what Rios means by his statement that “the government had become an abusive step-parent figure” (43). According to him, what are the effects of this “abusive” relationship? What does Rios mean by "Multi-Spatial Criminalization" (44)? Based on Jose’s account of being arrested in the third grade (45), draw a correlation between school success/failure and interactions...
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...progressing, there is still a high number of citizens who are facing homelessness (“Opening Doors Plan,” 2015). A lack of federal financial assistance, fragmented services and the difficulties in accessing these services have played a major role in hampering the solution to this social problem (“Opening Doors Plan,” 2015). As a result, these factors have necessitated a shift in federal, state and local policies to end homelessness. America has learned that homelessness can no longer be viewed as a short-term crisis where an abundance of emergency shelters can solve the problem. The demand for emergency shelters has always exceeded the supply for them. In order for justice to occur, there is an urgent need for more preventive measures and long-term solutions to end this problem. Homeless individuals and families are a vulnerable population whose rights have to be protected. A just response to America’s homeless problem has to include prohibition of criminalization laws, permanent housing with supportive services and polices to ensure homeless children achieve success in school. One response to homelessness has been the practice of enacting laws, statutes and ordinances that criminalize behaviors that are common among homeless people (O’Connor, 2006). The purpose of these laws is to remove the homeless from the public’s view in order to minimize their effects on the quality of life in cities...
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...Cities." National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty. National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty, Nov. 2011. Web. 1 Feb. 2016. This is an outside source that is a report on the homelessness in America and discusses the criminalization of these individuals. It gives a detailed report of the increase of poverty and it looks at how attempting to criminalize the homeless impacts both the homeless and the criminal justice system. Specifically, it affects the human rights and dignity of the individuals and the burdening the justice system with unnecessary cases. Conclusion (1 paragraph): This section will have the concluding paragraph. This paragraph will very briefly summarize the historical background of vagrancy and the laws that arose from trying to limit the movement of vagrants. It will repeat how these laws are a reflection of the oppression from the elite class having an influence over the justice system from a Marxist perspective and Chambliss’ views this influence...
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...A Black girl born in 2001 has a 1 in 17 chance of going to prison in her lifetime; a Latino girl a 1 in 45 chance; a White girl a 1 in 111 chance.” Poverty is the largest driving force behind the Pipeline crisis, exacerbated by race (Children’s Defense Fund, 2009). Children in the most economically depressed communities are high at risk of low achievement and attainment and are often stuck in underfunded, overcrowded schools (Children’s Defense Fund, 2009) Poor urban schools have the highest number of teachers who are inexperienced or do not have degrees in the subjects they teach (Children’s Defense Fund, 2009). Fewer resources and attention to students yield poor educational achievement and poor behavior outcomes (NAACAP Legal Defense Fund,...
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...motivated and very one sided. However, this issue has a history, a very long and painful history. As a result of the original civil rights movement championed by many including Malcolm X, there is a deep seated distrust and anger towards our police and our government for many things including segregation, lack of representation, gerrymandering, criminalization and violence towards the African American community to name only a few. In 1964, Malcolm X rallied in the speech...
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...Criminalization of Homelessness in America SOC 331: Social Justice and Ethics April 6, 2015 Criminalization of Homelessness in America Every country faces homelessness in one form or another. Homelessness in America has been an ongoing problem over many decade. Homelessness is not racist or biased as anyone can find themselves without the financial means to provide adequate shelter and food. While there are many definitions for homelessness the most common is “a person who "lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate night-time residence” (www.pbs.org). Those who are susceptible to homelessness consist of but not limited to children, teenagers, adult men and woman, veterans, mentally unstable and elderly people. Homelessness is not just the problem that the homeless person faces but the problem that we all as citizens of the United States face ethically, morally with the proper forms of justice. Throughout this paper we are asked to evaluate different perspective and responses in regards to the American problem of homelessness. In doing so virtue ethics, distributive, commutative and retributive justices will be used in evaluating the responses. ‘Virtue ethics is an ethical theory that evaluates the morality of the person doing a given act, rather than the act itself. Virtue ethics thus emphasizes that the various virtues and whether a person reflects those virtues in his or her actions are crucial to moral evaluation” (Mosser, 2010). The text book Social and Criminal Justice...
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...Hildreth, MacLeod and Moran, 2009). Already, courts for the mentally ill have been established to address this concern. However, it is necessary to expand this role. In Ontario, the police utilize a variety of factors to establish whether it is necessary to divert a suspect to the mental health facilities or not. These factors include the gravity of the offence, whether the police know the suspect and their associated history of mental illness, and whether the suspects poses a risk to others or not (Harvey, Hildreth, MacLeod and Moran, 2009). The pre-charge diversion options available to the police include linking up the suspect with mental health services at the community level, assisting the individual to locate their loved ones, calling crisis response teams to take the individual into custody, or arresting the individual in accordance with the Mental Health Act and delivering them to emergency treatment services. However, there is a lack of incentive to utilize these options that needs to be addressed. The police may not resort to any of the above actions due to delays in waiting durations, concerns that the suspect will not satisfy the criteria for...
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...Introduction Ever wonder why snakes migrate after laying eggs? The truth behind this is the alleged cannibalism that happens when snakes keep their young. In a greater sense, the mistreatment of family members, usually wives, in a domestic scene is the same as keeping a snake and eating it after a few days. It is selfish. It is blameworthy. It is immoral. What is this monstrous thing beheld as it is not to be? The UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women (1993) defines domestic violence as, “any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation, whether occurring in public and private life (Mallorca-Bernabe 1-2).” In simpler terms, domestic violence refers to the abusive treatment one evokes another in the family context. Fifty years ago, domestic violence was not even recognized as a significant study or as a legal problem. It was not until the time when feminist activism developed concerning domestic violence that this issue surfaced publicly. From then on, domestic violence has been understood as abuse not confined to the criterion of being physical but as an act involving emotional abuse and sexual assault (Schneider 353-363). Physical violence, being the most evident of the three, involves acts that somewhat suffuse physical torment upon the victim. This encompasses slapping, hitting, kicking, burning...
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...A recurring theme of the media is the sense that the nation is not in control of its fate, its economy and its borders, and that immigrant and refugees are the major reason why. This treatment of immigrants and refugees creates a crisis mentality, and results in extreme negative reactions toward them, including their dehumanization- the ultimate form of intolerance of otherness. Patrisia Gonzales and Roberto Rodriguez elucidates on the topic of dehumanization of immigrants in their article, “$4,000: The Price of a Mexican”. Gonzales and Rodriguez share the incident of a South Texas rancher shooting a Mexican immigrant. Even when found guilty, the man was charged with an absurdly minimal amount of four thousand dollars. This article provides the perfect example of how even though the hate crimes committed against immigrants are on a disquietly rise, they are still degraded and dehumanized even by the...
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................................................................................................................3 2. Government’s response and its outcome........................................................................4 3. Why the conflict burning despite the government’s effort today...................................5 a. Selfish Nigerian Government...................................................................................4 b. Criminalization of the Delta.....................................................................................6 c. Poverty.....................................................................................................................6 d. Role of oil Companies..............................................................................................7 4. Conclusion......................................................................................................................9 INTRODUCTION The conflict in the Niger Delta is complex, a crisis involving local patriots and freedom fighters. The Niger Delta is rich in mineral-petroleum and gas. The Nigerian state formulated fiscal policies and laws such as the Petroleum Act, which gives the Federal Government the exclusive ownership of oil resources in Nigeria; the Land Use Act which vests the ownership of Lands on State Governments; The exclusive Economic Zone Act by which the federal Government has exclusive right over all resources within 200 nautical...
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...Electoral reform is change in electoral systems to improve how public desires are expressed in election results. That can include reforms of: * Voting systems, such as proportional representation, a two-round system (runoff voting), instant-runoff voting, Instant Round Robin Voting called Condorcet Voting, approval voting, citizen initiatives and referendums and recall elections. * Vote-counting procedures * Rules about political parties, typically changes to election laws * Eligibility to vote * How candidates and political parties are able to stand (nomination rules) and how they are able to get their names onto ballots (ballot access) * Electoral constituencies and election district borders * Ballot design and voting equipment * Scrutineering (election monitoring by candidates, political parties, etc.) * Safety of voters and election workers * Measures against bribery, coercion, and conflicts of interest * Financing of candidates' and referendum campaigns * Factors which affect the rate of voter participation (voter turnout) Electoral Reforms in India: Issues and Challenges before theElection Commission INTRODUCTION “An election is a moral horror, as bad as a battle except for the blood; a mud bath for every soul concerned in it.” - George Bernard Shaw Electoral reform means introducing fair electoral systems for conducting fair elections. It alsoincludes recuperation of the existing systems to enhance and increase...
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...HIV/AIDS IN LOUISIANA 2010 While the Federal government’s investment in treatment and research is helping people with HIV/AIDS live longer and more productive lives, HIV continues to spread at a staggering national rate. The latest incidence data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates nationally there were 48,100 new HIV infections in 2009. The graph below depicts the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Louisiana through 2010 according the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals. Note that the following HIV/AIDS statistics only represent a portion of the epidemic in the U.S.—those cases that have been both confirmed through testing and reported. Reported AIDS Casesi Number Currently Living with HIV (not AIDS) Number Currently Living with HIV/AIDS Number Currently Living with AIDS Cumulative AIDS Cases 25000 20,923 20,143 20000 18,308 17,387 16,277 15,323 15000 10000 8,684 7,593 9,379 10,035 8,273 8,008 5000 0 2007 2008 2009 2010 1 Last Updated: July 21, 2011 Demographic Trendsii The HIV/AIDS epidemic disproportionately affects those at risk from social factors such as disparity and discrimination. The following demographic numbers are from the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals as of December 31, 2010. PERSONS LIVING WITH HIV/AIDS BY GENDER, 2010 Female 30% Male 70% PERSONS LIVING WITH HIV/AIDS BY RACE / ETHNICITY, 2010 Black, Not Hispanic White, Not Hispanic ...
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...Legalizing Marijuana Article Rebuttal Bruce Wayne BCOM/275 October 24, 2011 Dr. Phil Jackson Legalizing Marijuana Article Rebuttal A persuasive article on legalizing marijuana was published by TIME magazine. The reasoning for legalizing marijuana was that it would generate the government an estimated 1.4 million dollars in tax money. This figure does not include additional taxation which could be applied to activities or jobs within the agricultural, marketing, and retailing sectors that would be generated if marijuana where to be legalized. Although legalization of marijuana may produce more jobs, stimulate the economy, and possibly reduce the majority of crime produced by the illegal distribution of marijuana. I still disagree with the idea and choose to rebuttal this article for the lack of reliability, validity of data used, and the faulty comparison that was displayed in this article. First off, TIME magazine is a well-known newsmagazine that has been publishing articles on politics, world issues, and business related topics since March 3, 1923 (TIME magazine, 2012). They are also partners with Cable News Network (CNN) which is a respected news source. Both of these factors are enough to convince the majority of individuals to think they are reliable sources when reading information regarding certain topics. For the most part they are, unfortunately I found a correction noted on the bottom of this article which causes me to think otherwise. The correction...
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...Griffin Thomas 2/25/2014 The Education Crisis in America Currently the U.S. has a major problem on its hands, education today is constantly losing money while we put more of that money and time into our prisons rather than our schools. By showing kids that it is more important to be tough on crime than it is for a proper education is wrong. If these practices continue you can expect to see higher drop-out rates and larger prison populations. Education should be the U.S.’s top priority and we should take pride in the greatest education system in the world. Education provides students not with just knowledge but ethics, character development and self-esteem which are important skills for the workplace and in life. That is why it is imperative that we change our education system to a higher standard and emphasize quality education for all in the U.S. to provide a better future for all students. The U.S. is currently putting less into schools and education while putting more into prisons and defense. States are choosing to increase spending on prisons while the funding for education is constantly decreasing. “In 33 of 50 states, corrections- related costs made up a larger proportion of the general fund than in the previous fiscal year, while spending on K-12 and higher education decreased” ( Hawkins). The U.S. is silently making a decision to keep people incarcerated while caring less about a proper education. What they don’t understand is that a proper education is the key...
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