Keywords

homelessness, race, media, focus groups

Abstract

This study uses two quantitative and two qualitative data sources to determine if homeless people are viewed as dangerous and if they are what factors contribute to this perception. Areas examined are respondent's characteristics, media affects and the perceived rights of homeless people to urban space. Actual levels of perpetration among the homeless are examined to allow for comparisons between perception and reality to be made. Findings showed that race plays a major role in the perception of homeless peo-ple among whites, while gender is more influential among blacks. There was no rela-tionship between media and perceptions. A negative relationship was found between support of rights of the homeless and the perception that they are dangerous. While the homeless have higher incarceration rate as compared to the poor-but-never-homeless, the crimes for which they are sentenced appear to be non-violent in nature and are of-ten what are characterized as nuisance crimes. Recommendations were made to study actual perpetration rates among the homeless to allow for a more in-depth analysis of criminal involvement.

Notes

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Graduation Date

2008

Advisor

Wright, James

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

College

College of Sciences

Department

Sociology

Degree Program

Sociology

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

CFE0002261

URL

http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0002261

Language

English

Release Date

September 2008

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Doctoral Dissertation (Open Access)

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Sociology Commons

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