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Unhoused individuals' experiences of being policed in Cape Town
The present study departed from a conversation in the South African literature on the discriminatory application of by-laws to criminalise vagrancy-related behaviour and displace the unhoused. A comparative lack of interest has been given to how exactly the unhoused experience being policed, and whe...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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Department of Public Law
2024
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| _version_ | 1867613167358574592 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Ackermann, Jo |
| author2 | Kriegler, Anine |
| author_browse | Ackermann, Jo Kriegler, Anine |
| author_facet | Kriegler, Anine Ackermann, Jo |
| author_sort | Ackermann, Jo |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | The present study departed from a conversation in the South African literature on the discriminatory application of by-laws to criminalise vagrancy-related behaviour and displace the unhoused. A comparative lack of interest has been given to how exactly the unhoused experience being policed, and whether this can be explained by by-law enforcement. To address this, focus groups were conducted with 28 formerly unhoused individuals who have lived on the streets of Cape Town and are now housed by community-based organisation, Streetscapes. Participants were asked about experiences of being policed, and their understandings of officers' behaviour. Their responses indicate a range of experiences, from brutal, humiliating and unjust encounters that were indicative of a lack of respect for the unhoused on the part of law enforcement, to kind and fair, rooted in empathy for their situation. The varied nature of the incidents goes beyond the enforcement of by-laws and reflects the views and choices of officers (and the residents and politicians from whom they sometimes receive instructions). The implications of these findings are therefore that policing unhoused people needs to be understood both within and outside of a legal framework. This should nuance the debate on how best to help the unhoused enjoy their rights, as an exclusive focus on reviewing discriminatory legislation may ignore factors such as personal bias and a willingness to use violence by law enforcement, and a lack of broader governmental, institutional and public support. Paying greater attention to this could ultimately shape interventions and thus more effectively address the homelessness problem in Cape Town (and perhaps elsewhere). |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/40776 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:31:50.330Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2024 |
| publishDateRange | 2024 |
| publishDateSort | 2024 |
| publisher | Department of Public Law |
| publisherStr | Department of Public Law |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/40776 Unhoused individuals' experiences of being policed in Cape Town Ackermann, Jo Kriegler, Anine Moult, Kelley Public Law The present study departed from a conversation in the South African literature on the discriminatory application of by-laws to criminalise vagrancy-related behaviour and displace the unhoused. A comparative lack of interest has been given to how exactly the unhoused experience being policed, and whether this can be explained by by-law enforcement. To address this, focus groups were conducted with 28 formerly unhoused individuals who have lived on the streets of Cape Town and are now housed by community-based organisation, Streetscapes. Participants were asked about experiences of being policed, and their understandings of officers' behaviour. Their responses indicate a range of experiences, from brutal, humiliating and unjust encounters that were indicative of a lack of respect for the unhoused on the part of law enforcement, to kind and fair, rooted in empathy for their situation. The varied nature of the incidents goes beyond the enforcement of by-laws and reflects the views and choices of officers (and the residents and politicians from whom they sometimes receive instructions). The implications of these findings are therefore that policing unhoused people needs to be understood both within and outside of a legal framework. This should nuance the debate on how best to help the unhoused enjoy their rights, as an exclusive focus on reviewing discriminatory legislation may ignore factors such as personal bias and a willingness to use violence by law enforcement, and a lack of broader governmental, institutional and public support. Paying greater attention to this could ultimately shape interventions and thus more effectively address the homelessness problem in Cape Town (and perhaps elsewhere). 2024-12-18T07:04:38Z 2024-12-18T07:04:38Z 2024 2024-12-18T07:01:08Z Thesis / Dissertation Masters MPhil http://hdl.handle.net/11427/40776 eng application/pdf Department of Public Law Faculty of Law University of Cape Town |
| spellingShingle | Public Law Ackermann, Jo Unhoused individuals' experiences of being policed in Cape Town |
| thesis_degree_str | Master's |
| title | Unhoused individuals' experiences of being policed in Cape Town |
| title_full | Unhoused individuals' experiences of being policed in Cape Town |
| title_fullStr | Unhoused individuals' experiences of being policed in Cape Town |
| title_full_unstemmed | Unhoused individuals' experiences of being policed in Cape Town |
| title_short | Unhoused individuals' experiences of being policed in Cape Town |
| title_sort | unhoused individuals experiences of being policed in cape town |
| topic | Public Law |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/40776 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ackermannjo unhousedindividualsexperiencesofbeingpolicedincapetown |