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.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ucf.edu/oai:stars.library.ucf.edu:etd-4789 |
| Date | 01 January 2008 |
| Creators | Donley, Amy |
| Publisher | STARS |
| Source Sets | University of Central Florida |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Electronic Theses and Dissertations |
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