The impact of Housing First participation on police-reported crime and crime severity

ABSTRACT

Housing First (HF) addresses chronic homelessness by admitting individuals into permanent shelter regardless of their situation. Studies using self-reported data suggest that HF can potentially decrease justice system use, but they are limited by inaccurate measurement of police contacts. This study uses administrative data from police to measure the change in number of police interactions, change in average crime weight (or importance of crime), and change in the distribution of crime weight, before and after HF. Six hundred and two chronically homeless individuals with a history of criminal involvement and who were accommodated by an HF shelter between three months to a year were eligible for this study. We use unconditional quantile regression to observe HF’s effect on changes in the distribution of crime weights over time. While the average crime weight increased during the study period (57–79.1), the average number of police interactions decreased. Statistically significant decreases of approximately 5 crime weight units were observed between percentiles 0.54 and 0.65 and decreases of approximately 15 crime weight units occurred at percentiles 0.73 and 0.81. HF is effective at reducing minor crimes at the highest end of the distribution and helping those experiencing homelessness to avoid the warrant cycle.

KEYWORDS:

• Homeless Persons
• Police Force
• Crime
• Regression Analysis
• Housing Insecurity

Acknowledgements

This study uses data provided by the Calgary Homeless Foundation and Calgary Police Service. The interpretation and conclusions contained herein are those of the researchers and do not necessarily represent the views of the Calgary Homeless Foundation or Calgary Police Service. We remain solely responsible for any errors, misinterpretations, or omissions.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Indigenous is a broad category within which people self-identified as First Nations, Métis, or Inuit. In our dataset, the older term ‘Aboriginal’ is used.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.

Notes on contributors

Ali Jadidzadeh

Dr. Ali Jadidzadeh is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Tehran, and a Research Fellow in The School of Public Policy at the University of Calgary. Dr. Jadidzadeh's research in applied econometrics along with his interest in public policies have resulted in applying his statistical skills to aid individuals experiencing homelessness.

Cameron MacLellan

Cameron MacLellan is a research associate in the Department of Community Health and Epidemiology at Dalhousie University. His research interests include studying factors contributing to homelessness as well as the effect of health and social spending on health outcomes.

Ronald Kneebone

Dr. Ron Kneebone is a Professor of Economics and Director of Economic & Social Policy in The School of Public Policy, both at the University of Calgary. Dr. Kneebone currently researches problems related to homelessness and income support for persons with disabilities and is a co-author of two established undergraduate textbooks on economic principles and macroeconomic theory.

Daniel J. Dutton

Dr. Daniel J. Dutton is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Community Health and Epidemiology at Dalhousie University. Dr. Dutton's research focuses on how the environments within which individuals live their lives impact their eventual health outcomes, and in particular, how governments can act to mitigate the influences of those environments.